Pulses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Rhythmic variations in physical or emotional states can manifest as fluctuations within the body
2. Repeated patterns of energy or sensations can appear as regular intervals of activity
3. Regularly recurring surges of energy or vitality can be experienced as fluctuations in physiological or emotional states

Etymology: The word "pulses" is the plural of "pulse," and it comes from a Latin verb about driving and striking. Latin "pulsus" meant "beat" or "stroke," and it came from "pellere," "to drive, push, or strike." Medieval physicians used the noun for the regular throb of the arteries, and that medical sense is the oldest in English. English gained the word in the Late Middle English period, and it reached English through Anglo-Norman and Old French forms such as "pous" and "pouls." The energy sense grew out of the same idea of regular beating. Once "pulse" meant the rhythmic beat of the blood, it could also mean the beat of a musical instrument, and then vitality or energy more generally. A plural such as "pulses" therefore names repeated surges, each one a separate beat of the same underlying drive.

Synonyms: beats, throbs