Meanings
periodic1
- not comparableHaving repeated cycles.
There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town. “Mason Rickets, he had ten big punkins a-sittin' in front of his store, an' them fellers from the Upside-down-F ranch shot 'em up […].”
1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'ClockSynonyms: cyclic
- not comparableOccurring at regular intervals.
That last problem did intrude on Hazzard’s roamings, and when she refers to the living city it is with periodic references to thefts of cars and wallets, with a warning not to carry anything “snatchable” by the thieves on motorcycles who whiz through the streets.
2009 February 15, Judith Martin, “It Started in Naples”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022Synonyms: cyclic
- not comparablePeriodical.
- not comparableastronomyPertaining to the revolution of a celestial object in its orbit.
Antonyms: non-periodic
- not comparablestochastic processesmathematicsFor which any return to it must occur in multiples of k time steps, for some k>1.
Antonyms: aperiodic
- not comparablerhetoricHaving a structure characterized by periodic sentences.
periodic2
- not comparableRelating to the highest oxidation state of iodine; of or derived from a periodic acid.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveHaving repeated cycles.
adjectiveOccurring at regular intervals.
adjectivePertaining to the revolution of a celestial object in its orbit.
adjectiveFor which any return to it must occur in multiples of k time steps, for some k>1.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehappening or recurring at regular intervals
adjectiverecurring or reappearing from time to time
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
periodic · adjective
- Ancient Greekπερίοδος“cycle, period of time”
- Latinperiodus“complete sentence, period, circuit”
- Medieval Latinperiodicus“cyclical”
- Frenchpériodique
- Englishperiodic
From French périodique, from Medieval Latin periodicus (“cyclical”), from Latin periodus (“complete sentence, period, circuit”), from Ancient Greek περίοδος (períodos, “cycle, period of time”). By surface analysis, period + -ic.
More words from French, Medieval Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →periodic · adjective
- Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
- Proto-Indo-European*pér
- Proto-Italic*per
- Latinper
- Proto-Indo-European*per-
- Proto-Italic*peri-
- Latinper-
- Englishper-
- Englishiodic
- Englishperiodic
Translations
Bulgarian периодичен, цикличен
- периодичен (periodičen)relative to a period or periods
- цикличен (cikličen)having repeated cycles
- периодичен (periodičen)occurring at regular intervals
- периодичен (periodičen)(mathematics) of a state
- реторичен (retoričen)(rhetoric) having structure characterized by periodic sentences
Catalan periòdic, periòdic
- periòdichaving repeated cycles
- periòdicoccurring at regular intervals
Chinese Mandarin 週期的 /周期的
- 週期的 /周期的 (zhōuqí de)having repeated cycles
Czech periodický
- periodickýhaving repeated cycles
Danish periodisk, periodisk
- periodiskhaving repeated cycles
- periodiskoccurring at regular intervals
- periodiskperiodical
Finnish jaksollinen, aikakautinen
- jaksollinenrelative to a period or periods
- aikakautinenrelative to a period or periods
- jaksollinenhaving repeated cycles
- säännöllinenoccurring at regular intervals
- jaksollinenoccurring at regular intervals
- jaksollinenperiodical
- kausittainenperiodical
- jaksollinen(astronomy) pertaining to the revolution of a celestial object in its orbit
- jaksollinen(mathematics) of a state
French périodique, périodique
- périodiquerelative to a period or periods
- périodiquehaving repeated cycles
- périodiqueoccurring at regular intervals
German periodisch
- periodischhaving repeated cycles
Greek περιοδικός, περιοδικός
- περιοδικός (periodikós)relative to a period or periods
- περιοδικός (periodikós)having repeated cycles
- περιοδικός (periodikós)occurring at regular intervals
- περιοδικό (periodikó)periodical
Hebrew מחזורי, מחזורי
- מחזורי (machzorí)having repeated cycles
- מחזורי (machzorí)(mathematics) of a state
Hungarian szakaszos, időszakos
- szakaszosrelative to a period or periods
- időszakosrelative to a period or periods
- ismétlődőhaving repeated cycles
- periodikusoccurring at regular intervals
- időszakioccurring at regular intervals
Irish tréimhsiúil, tréimhsiúil
- tréimhsiúiloccurring at regular intervals
- tréimhsiúil(astronomy) pertaining to the revolution of a celestial object in its orbit
Italian periodico, periodico
- periodicorelative to a period or periods
- periodicohaving repeated cycles
- periodicahaving repeated cycles
Japanese 周期的, 周期的
- 周期的 (shūki-teki)relative to a period or periods
- 周期的 (shūki-teki)having repeated cycles
- 周期的 (shūki-teki)occurring at regular intervals
- 周期的 (shūki-teki)periodical
- 周期的 (shūki-teki)(astronomy) pertaining to the revolution of a celestial object in its orbit
Malay berkala
- berkalaoccurring at regular intervals
Māori huirangi, kauteatea
- huirangioccurring at regular intervals
- kauteateaoccurring at regular intervals
- putaputaperiodical
Norwegian Bokmål periodisk
- periodiskoccurring at regular intervals
Polish okresowy, periodyczny
- okresowyhaving repeated cycles
- periodycznyhaving repeated cycles
- okresowyoccurring at regular intervals
- periodycznyoccurring at regular intervals
Portuguese periódico, periódico
- periódicorelative to a period or periods
- periódicohaving repeated cycles
- periódicooccurring at regular intervals
Russian периоди́ческий
- периоди́ческий (periodíčeskij)having repeated cycles
Spanish periódico
- periódicohaving repeated cycles
Swedish period-, periodisk
- period-relative to a period or periods
- periodiskhaving repeated cycles
- periodiskoccurring at regular intervals
- regelbundenoccurring at regular intervals
- periodiskperiodical
- periodisk(astronomy) pertaining to the revolution of a celestial object in its orbit
Ukrainian періоди́чний, періоди́чний
- періоди́чний (periodýčnyj)having repeated cycles
- періоди́чний (periodýčnyj)occurring at regular intervals
Yiddish פּעריאָדיש, פּעריאָדיש
- פּעריאָדיש (peryodish)having repeated cycles
- פּעריאָדיש (peryodish)occurring at regular intervals
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with periodic
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
periodic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/periodic
“periodic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/periodic. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “periodic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/periodic.
Source: periodic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.