vibratiuncle
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From modern Latin vibratiuncula, diminutive form of Latin vibrātio (“vibration”).
Pronunciation
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Noun
vibratiuncle (plural vibratiuncles)
- (now chiefly historical) A minuscule or slight vibration; specifically, a vibration in brain tissue caused by the comparatively greater vibrations of the particles of the medullary substance of the nerves (formerly hypothesised to convey external impressions to the mind). [from 18th c.]
- 1749, David Hartley, Observations on Man, I.i:
- Diminutive Vibrations, which may also be called Vibratiuncles and Miniatures.
- 2004, Robert E Schofield, The Enlightened Joseph Priestley, Pennsylvania State University 2004, p. 57:
- Yet long after references to associationism all but ceased, neurophysiologists continue to explore variations of the “traces” or “vibratiuncles” that sensations might leave in the substance of the brain.
- 1749, David Hartley, Observations on Man, I.i: