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Webster 1913 Edition

Revolution

Revˊo-lu′tion

,
Noun.
[F.
révolution
, L.
revolutio
. See
Revolve
.]
1.
The act of revolving, or turning round on an axis or a center; the motion of a body round a fixed point or line; rotation;
as, the
revolution
of a wheel, of a top, of the earth on its axis, etc.
2.
Return to a point before occupied, or to a point relatively the same; a rolling back; return;
as,
revolution
in an ellipse or spiral
.
That fear
Comes thundering back, with dreadful
revolution
,
On my defenseless head.
Milton.
3.
The space measured by the regular return of a revolving body; the period made by the regular recurrence of a measure of time, or by a succession of similar events.
“The short revolution of a day.”
Dryden.
4.
(Astron.)
The motion of any body, as a planet or satellite, in a curved line or orbit, until it returns to the same point again, or to a point relatively the same; – designated as the annual, anomalistic, nodical, sidereal, or tropical revolution, according as the point of return or completion has a fixed relation to the year, the anomaly, the nodes, the stars, or the tropics;
as, the
revolution
of the earth about the sun; the
revolution
of the moon about the earth.
☞ The term is sometimes applied in astronomy to the motion of a single body, as a planet, about its own axis, but this motion is usually called rotation.
5.
(Geom.)
The motion of a point, line, or surface about a point or line as its center or axis, in such a manner that a moving point generates a curve, a moving line a surface (called a surface of revolution), and a moving surface a solid (called a solid of revolution);
as, the
revolution
of a right-angled triangle about one of its sides generates a cone; the
revolution
of a semicircle about the diameter generates a sphere.
6.
A total or radical change;
as, a
revolution
in one’s circumstances or way of living
.
The ability . . . of the great philosopher speedily produced a complete
revolution
throughout the department.
Macaulay.
7.
(Politics)
A fundamental change in political organization, or in a government or constitution; the overthrow or renunciation of one government, and the substitution of another, by the governed.
The violence of
revolutions
is generally proportioned to the degree of the maladministration which has produced them.
Macaulay.
☞ When used without qualifying terms, the word is often applied specifically, by way of eminence, to: (a) The English Revolution in 1689, when William of Orange and Mary became the reigning sovereigns, in place of James II. (b) The American Revolution, beginning in 1775, by which the English colonies, since known as the United States, secured their independence. (c) The revolution in France in 1789, commonly called the French Revolution, the subsequent revolutions in that country being designated by their dates, as the Revolution of 1830, of 1848, etc.

Webster 1828 Edition

Revolution

REVOLU'TION

,
Noun.
[L. revolutus, revolvo.]
1.
In physics, rotation; the circular motion of a body on its axis; a course or motion which brings every point of the surface or periphery of a body back to the place at which it began to move; as the revolution of a wheel; the diurnal revolution of the earth.
2.
The motion of a body round any fixed point or center; as the annual revolution of the earth or other planet in its orbit round the center of the system.
3.
Motion of any thing which brings it to the same point or state; as the revolution of day and night or of the seasons.
4.
Continued course marked by the regular return of years; as the revolution of ages.
5.
Space measured by some regular return of a revolving body or of a state of things; as the revolution of a day.
6.
In politics, a material or entire change in the constitution of government. Thus the revolution in England, in 1688, was produced by the abdication of king James II the establishment of the house of Orange upon the throne, and the restoration of the constitution to its primitive state. So the revolutions in Poland, in the United States of America, and in France, consisted in a change of constitution. We shall rejoice to hear that the Greeks have effected a revolution.
7.
Motion backward.
This word is used adjectively, as in the phrase, revolution principles.

Definition 2024

Revolution

Revolution

See also: revolution and révolution

English

Proper noun

Revolution

  1. Any of several political/military revolutions (or revolutionary wars), taken specifically.

Derived terms

  • American Revolution (1775-1783) of the contiguous southern 13 colonies of the British Empire on the east coast of the North American mainland
  • French Revolution (1789-1799) of France
  • Bolshevik Revolution
  • Communist Revolution

Coordinate terms

Usage notes

  • In English-language contexts, the term frequently refers to the American Revolution of 1775-1783.

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌʁe(ː).vo.luˈtsi̯oːn/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /ˌʁɛ.vo.lʊˈtsi̯oːn/, /ˌʁɛ.vlʊˈtsi̯oːn/ (variants in common speech)

Noun

Revolution f ‎(genitive Revolution, plural Revolutionen)

  1. revolution
    • 1932, Erich Mühsam, Die Befreiung der Gesellschaft vom Staat, in: Erich Mühsam: Prosaschriften II, Verlag europäische ideen Berlin (1978), page 290:
      Selbst da, wo schon die Revolution unter der Losung „Alle Macht den Räten!“ den Sieg der Arbeiter und Bauern brachte, wurden die Räte staats- und parteiuntertan […]
      Even there, where the revolution, under the slogan "All power to the councils!", already brought the victory of the workers and peasants, the councils became servant to state and party […]

Declension

revolution

revolution

See also: Revolution and révolution

English

Noun

revolution ‎(countable and uncountable, plural revolutions)

  1. A political upheaval in a government or nation state characterized by great change.
  2. The removal and replacement of a government.
  3. Rotation: the turning of an object around an axis.
    • 1912, P. M. Heldt, The Gasoline Automobile: Its Design and Construction, Volume II: Transmission, Running Gear and Control, The Horseless Age Co. (1913), page 147:
      The ratio between the speeds of revolution of wheel and disc is substantially equal to the reciprocal of the ratio between the diameter of the wheel and the diameter of the mean contact circle on the disc.
  4. A rotation: one complete turn of an object during rotation.
    • 1864, D. M. Warren, The Common-School Geography, Revised Edition, H. Cowperthwait & Co., page 6:
      The Earth has two motions: a daily revolution (or turning around) upon its axis, and a yearly course around the sun.
    • 1878, George Fleming, A Text-Book of Veterinary Obstetrics, Baillière, Tindall, & Cox, page 123:
      Numerous cases are recorded which incontestibly prove that during pregnancy, the uterus perform a half or even a complete revolution, on itself, producing torsion of the cervix […]
  5. In the case of celestial bodies - the traversal of one body through an orbit around another body.
  6. A sudden, vast change in a situation, a discipline, or the way of thinking and behaving.

Usage notes

  • Astronomers today do not use revolution to refer to the turning of an object about an axis: they use rotation for that, and revolution only for the traversal of a body through an orbit (which also happens around some axis). (This may be somewhat customary, however, strictly speaking, using either word for either process would not be incorrect.)

Antonyms

Derived terms

Compounds

Related terms

Translations

traversal of one body through an orbit around another body

Danish

Etymology

From French révolution.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /rɛvolusjoːn/, [ʁɛvoluˈɕoːˀn]

Noun

revolution c (singular definite revolutionen, plural indefinite revolutioner)

  1. revolution (political upheaval)
  2. revolution (removal and replacement of a government)
  3. revolution (sudden, vast change in a situation or discipline)

Inflection

Derived terms

External links

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /rɛvʊlɵˈɧuːn/

Noun

revolution c

  1. a revolution (upheaval, replacement of government, sudden change)

Declension

Inflection of revolution 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative revolution revolutionen revolutioner revolutionerna
Genitive revolutions revolutionens revolutioners revolutionernas

Related terms

  • revolt
  • revoltera
  • revolutionsgardist

Etymology

Capitalization of revolution.

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