Phrase guide

Foucault's pendulum

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 傅科擺 /傅科摆 (Fùkē bǎi) — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Czech: Foucaultovo kyvadlo — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Estonian: Foucault' pendel — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Finnish: Foucaultin heiluri — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • French: pendule de Foucault — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Georgian: ფუკოს ქანქარა (puḳos kankara) — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • German: Foucaultsches Pendel — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Hungarian: Foucault-inga — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Italian: pendolo di Foucault — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Japanese: フーコーの振り子 (Fūkō no furiko) — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Polish: Wahadło Foucaulta — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Russian: ма́ятник Фуко́ (májatnik Fukó) — pendulum free to move in any direction
  • Ukrainian: ма́ятник Фуко́ (májatnyk Fukó) — pendulum free to move in any direction