Foucault's pendulum

noun

A pendulum on a long wire, free to move in any direction; the plane of its motion appears to turn (clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere) as the world turns beneath it.

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Meanings

nounFoucault's pendulum (plural Foucault's pendulums)

plural Foucault's pendulums

  1. A pendulum on a long wire, free to move in any direction; the plane of its motion appears to turn (clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere) as the world turns beneath it.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
foucault pendulum

Origin

From the name of the French physicist Jean Bernard Léon Foucault.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 傅科擺 /傅科摆
  • 傅科擺 /傅科摆 (Fùkē bǎi)pendulum free to move in any direction
Czech Foucaultovo kyvadlo
  • Foucaultovo kyvadlopendulum free to move in any direction
Estonian Foucault' pendel
  • Foucault' pendelpendulum free to move in any direction
Finnish Foucaultin heiluri
  • Foucaultin heiluripendulum free to move in any direction
French pendule de Foucault
  • pendule de Foucaultpendulum free to move in any direction
German Foucaultsches Pendel
  • Foucaultsches Pendelpendulum free to move in any direction
Hungarian Foucault-inga
  • Foucault-ingapendulum free to move in any direction
Italian pendolo di Foucault
  • pendolo di Foucaultpendulum free to move in any direction
Japanese フーコーの振り子
  • フーコーの振り子 (Fūkō no furiko)pendulum free to move in any direction
Polish Wahadło Foucaulta
  • Wahadło Foucaultapendulum free to move in any direction
Russian ма́ятник Фуко́
  • ма́ятник Фуко́ (májatnik Fukó)pendulum free to move in any direction
Ukrainian ма́ятник Фуко́
  • ма́ятник Фуко́ (májatnyk Fukó)pendulum free to move in any direction
Cite this entry
APA

Foucault's pendulum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Foucault's%20pendulum

MLA

“Foucault's pendulum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Foucault's%20pendulum. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Foucault's pendulum,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Foucault's%20pendulum.

Source: Foucault's pendulum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.