Etymology

fluctuate

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Today it means: To vary irregularly; to swing. Full definition →

Latin flūctuātus
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromflūctuātus
  2. English todayfluctuate

First attested in 1630; borrowed from Latin flūctuātus, perfect passive participle of flūctuō (“(of the sea) to surge, swell; (of man) to waver, fluctuate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.