OSCAN
Os"can, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to the Osci, a primitive people of Campania, a province of ancient Italy. — n.
Defn: The language of the Osci.
OSCILLANCY
Os"cil*lan*cy, n.
Defn: The state of oscillating; a seesaw kind of motion. [R.]
OSCILLARIA
Os`cil*la"ri*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. oscillare to swing.] (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of dark green, or purplish black, filamentous, fresh- water algæ, the threads of which have an automatic swaying or crawling motion. Called also Oscillatoria.
OSCILLATE Os"cil*late, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Oscillated; p. pr. & vb. n. Oscillating.] Etym: [L. oscillare to swing, fr. oscillum a swing, a little mask or puppet made to be hung from trees and swing in the wind, prob. orig., a little mouth, a dim. from os mouth. See Oral, and cf. Osculate.]
1. To move backward and forward; to vibrate like a pendulum; to swing; to sway.
2. To vary or fluctuate between fixed limits; to act or move in a fickle or fluctuating manner; to change repeatedly, back and forth. The amount of superior families oscillates rather than changes, that is, it fluctuates within fixed limits. Dc Quincey.