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n.1. any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated.2. a round of years or a recurring period of time, esp. one in which certain events or phenomena repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals.3. any long period of years; age.4. a bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.5. a group of poems, dramas, prose narratives, songs etc., about a central theme, figure, or the like: the Arthurian cycle.6. Physics.a. a sequence of changing states that, upon completion, produces a final state identical to the original one.b. one of a succession of periodically recurring events.c. a complete alteration in which a phenomenon attains a maximum and minimum value, returning to a final value equal to the original one.7. Math. a permutation of a set of elements that leaves the original cyclic order of the elements unchanged.8. Computers.a. the smallest interval of time required to complete an operation in a computer.b. a series of computer operations repeated as a unit.9. hit for the cycle, Baseball. (of one player) to hit a single, double, triple, and home run in one game.v.i.10. to ride or travel by bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.11. to move or revolve in cycles; pass through cycles.[1350-1400; ME cicle < LL cyclus < Gk kýklos cycle, circle, wheel, ring, disk, orb; see WHEEL]
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(as used in expressions)Ossianic cycleFionn cycleUlaid cycle* * *
in literature, a group of prose or poetic narratives, usually of different authorship, centring on a legendary hero and his associates. The term cyclic poems was first used in late classical times to refer to the independent poems that appeared after Homer to supplement his account of the Trojan War and the heroes' homecomings. Another classical Greek cycle is the “Theban” group, dealing with Oedipus and his descendants. This cycle is best known through Sophocles' tragedies Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus, and Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes.Medieval romance is classified into three major cycles: the “matter of Rome the great,” the “matter of France,” and the “matter of Britain” (“matter” here is a literal translation of the French matière, referring to subject matter, theme, topic, etc.). The matter of Rome, a misnomer, refers to all tales derived from Latin classics. The matter of France includes the stories of Charlemagne and his Twelve Noble Peers. The matter of Britain refers to stories of King Arthur and his knights, the Tristan stories, and independent tales having an English background, such as Guy of Warwick.Groups of mystery plays (mystery play) that were regularly performed in various towns in England were also known as cycles. (See Chester plays; N-Town plays; Wakefield plays; York plays.)The word cycle is also used for a series of poems or novels that are linked in theme, such as Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle of 20 novels (1871–93), tracing the history of a single family.* * *
Universalium. 2010.