periodic Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective happening or recurring at regular intervals
    periodical.
    • the periodic appearance of the seventeen-year locust
  2. adjective satellite recurring or reappearing from time to time
    occasional.
    • periodic feelings of anxiety

WordNet

Per`i*od"ic adjective
Etymology
Pref. per- + iodic.
Definitions
  1. (Chem.) Pertaining to, derived from, or designating, the highest oxygen acid (HIO) of iodine.
Pe`ri*od"ic, Pe`ri*od"ic*al adjective (Also<
  • Periodic
  • Periodical
)
Etymology
L. periodicus, Gr. : cf. F. périodique.
Definitions
  1. Of or pertaining to a period or periods, or to division by periods.
    The periodicaltimes of all the satellites. Sir J. Herschel.
  2. Performed in a period, or regular revolution; proceeding in a series of successive circuits; as, the periodical motion of the planets round the sun.
  3. Happening, by revolution, at a stated time; returning regularly, after a certain period of time; acting, happening, or appearing, at fixed intervals; recurring; as, periodical epidemics.
    The periodic return of a plant's flowering. Henslow.
    To influence opinion through the periodical press. Courthope.
  4. (Rhet.) Of or pertaining to a period; constituting a complete sentence.

Webster 1913