I. ˈpəls also -l(t)s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pols, puls, from Old French pols, pouls, pous porridge, from Latin pult-, puls porridge made of meal and pulse, probably from Greek poltos porridge — more at pollen
1. : the edible seeds of various leguminous crops (as peas and beans)
2.
a. : a plant yielding pulse
b. : pulse plants
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English pous, puls, from Middle French pous, pouls, pols, from Latin pulsus beating, striking, pulse, from pulsus, past participle of pellere to drive, beat, push — more at felt
1.
a. : a regularly recurrent wave of distention in arteries that results from the progress through an artery of blood injected into the arterial system at each contraction of the ventricles of the heart
b. : the palpable beat resulting from such pulse as detected in a superficial artery (as the radial artery)
a very soft pulse
often : the number of such beats in a specified period of time (as one minute)
a resting pulse of 70
2.
a. : underlying sentiment, opinion, or drift especially as discoverable by tact or skill in perception rather than by open inquiry ; also : an indication of such
one may feel the social, economic, and political pulse of the State — American Guide Series: Maine
one felt the pulse of the village in the pub — S.P.B.Mais
the pulse of the wisdom and genius of the age — T.L.Peacock
the pulse of international political purpose — Herbert Feis
these farmers, owners of their land, are the pulse of anticommunism — George Weller
b. : feeling of life : throb of emotion : sensation of excitement : vitality
new industry has quickened the pulse of the people — American Guide Series: Texas
stirred the pulse of mankind — M.R.Cohen
awakened love's deep pulses — Vachel Lindsay
3.
a. : pulsing movement : rhythmical beating, vibrating, or sounding
the driller … feels the pulse of a bit far below his feet by the kick in his hand — Lamp
the pulse of its drama is deep and slow — George Farwell
the pulse of an engine
b. : pulsation , beat , throb ; specifically : a beat or stress in music or poetry
4.
a. : a transient variation of electrical current, voltage, or some other quantity whose value is normally constant — often used of current variations produced artificially and repeated either with a regular period or according to some code
b. : an electromagnetic wave or modulation thereof having brief duration
c. : a brief disturbance transmitted through a medium
a pulse of light
a pulse of sound
a pulse of pressure
5. : a sudden sharp upswing in numbers (as of a kind of organism) usually occurring at regular intervals
annual plankton pulses
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation : throb : move in pulses, beats, or periodic spurts : vibrate with life, sound, light
an environment that pulses and glows — H.L.Mencken
transitive verb
1. : to drive by or as if by a pulsation : cause to pulsate
the echoes had pulsed themselves to silence — Florette Henri
a gentle surf pulsed the air — Ward Taylor
2.
a. : to produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of pulses
pulsed waves
b. : to cause to be emitted in pulses
pulsed light
c. : to cause (an apparatus) to produce pulses
a transmitter pulsed by an electron tube
Synonyms: see pulsate
IV. noun
: a dose of a substance especially when applied over a short period of time
pulses of colchicine applied to the cells