Revolutions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A complete rotation of an object around a central point occurs during a cycle, which can also refer to notable shifts in political control and societal structures
2. Instances where an object makes a full turn around an axis are described, alongside the significant changes in governance or social frameworks that often arise from conflict
3. A full 360-degree turn of an object around its axis ; a fundamental and rapid change in political power or societal order

Etymology: The plural "revolutions" simply pluralises "revolution", so the story belongs to the singular. Its root is Latin "revolvere", "to roll back" or "revolve", built from "re-" (back, again) and "volvere" (to roll, turn). The Late Latin noun "revolutio" meant the act of turning or rolling around, and the word passed through Old French "revolucion" into Middle English, where it first meant the movement of a body going round in a circle, such as the orbit of a planet. That sense of a complete turn is what makes the political meaning so apt. A revolution in the political sense is a wheel that comes full circle, overturning the existing order and returning power to someone new. The plural "revolutions" can therefore refer either to several such upheavals or to the repeated turnings of something that goes round, though the political sense dominates in modern use.

Synonyms: turns, rotations, spins, cycles, revolves

Antonyms: stagnation, stationary, stillness