Definition: pulse
pulse
n 1: (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal
electrical state (or a series of such transients); "the
pulsations seemed to be coming from a star" [syn: pulsation,
pulsing, impulse]
2: the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with
each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her
heart" [syn: pulsation, heartbeat, beat]
3: the rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to
obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health [syn: pulse
rate, heart rate]
4: edible seeds of various pod-bearing plants (peas or beans or
lentils etc.)
v 1: expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically; "The
city pulsed with with music and excitement" [syn: pulsate,
throb]
2: produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form
of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce
pulses; "pulse waves"; "a transmitter pulsed by an
electronic tube" [syn: pulsate]
3: drive by or as if by pulsation; "A soft breeze pulsed the
air"
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Pulse \Pulse\, n. [OE. puls, L. puls, pultis, a thick pap or pottage made of meal, pulse, etc. See Poultice, and cf. Pousse.] Leguminous plants, or their seeds, as beans, pease, etc. If all the world Should, in a pet of temperance, feed on pulse. --Milton.
Pulse \Pulse\, n. [OE. pous, OF. pous, F. pouls, fr. L. pulsus (sc. venarum), the beating of the pulse, the pulse, from pellere, pulsum, to beat, strike; cf. Gr. ? to swing, shake, ? to shake. Cf. Appeal, Compel, Impel, Push.] 1. (Physiol.) The beating or throbbing of the heart or blood vessels, especially of the arteries. Note: In an artery the pulse is due to the expansion and contraction of the elastic walls of the artery by the action of the heart upon the column of blood in the arterial system. On the commencement of the diastole of the ventricle, the semilunar valves are closed, and the aorta recoils by its elasticity so as to force part of its contents into the vessels farther onwards. These, in turn, as they already contain a certain quantity of blood, expand, recover by an elastic recoil, and transmit the movement with diminished intensity. Thus a series of movements, gradually diminishing in intensity, pass along the arterial system (see the Note under Heart). For the sake of convenience, the radial artery at the wrist is generally chosen to detect the precise character of the pulse. The pulse rate varies with age, position, sex, stature, physical and psychical influences, etc. 2. Any measured or regular beat; any short, quick motion, regularly repeated, as of a medium in the transmission of light, sound, etc.; oscillation; vibration; pulsation; impulse; beat; movement. The measured pulse of racing oars. --Tennyson. When the ear receives any simple sound, it is struck by a single pulse of the air, which makes the eardrum and the other membranous parts vibrate according to the nature and species of the stroke. --Burke. Pulse glass, an instrument consisting to a glass tube with terminal bulbs, and containing ether or alcohol, which the heat of the hand causes to boil; -- so called from the pulsating motion of the liquid when thus warmed. Pulse wave (Physiol.), the wave of increased pressure started by the ventricular systole, radiating from the semilunar valves over the arterial system, and gradually disappearing in the smaller branches. the pulse wave travels over the arterial system at the rate of about 29.5 feet in a second. --H. N. Martin. To feel one's pulse. (a) To ascertain, by the sense of feeling, the condition of the arterial pulse. (b) Hence, to sound one's opinion; to try to discover one's mind.
Pulse \Pulse\, v. i. To beat, as the arteries; to move in pulses or beats; to pulsate; to throb. --Ray.
Pulse \Pulse\, v. t. [See Pulsate, Pulse a beating.] To drive by a pulsation; to cause to pulsate. [R.]
Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Pulse (Dan. 1:12, 16), R.V. "herbs," vegetable food in general.
