low frequencyn.adj.
/ləʊ ˈfriːkw(ə)nsi/, U.S. /loʊ ˈfrikwənsi/ A. n.
1. A low rate of recurrence of any regularly repeated event, so that the interval between successive events is correspondingly large; (Telecommunications) the frequency of an electromagnetic wave or other oscillatory phenomenon having a relatively small number of cycles in a second; spec. a frequency of 30–300 kilohertz (abbreviated LF).
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the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > low frequency
low frequency1839
sub-bass1839
bass1930
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > vibration or oscillation > frequency > high or low frequency
low frequency1839
high frequency1842
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > frequency or band of frequencies
high frequency1842
low frequency1900
voice frequency1905
audio frequency1913
pulsatance1919
medium frequency1920
side frequency1920
intermediate frequency1924
bass1930
frequency1943
frequency spectrum1955
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > voltage > [noun] > having few cycles per second
low frequency1900
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > alternating current > [noun] > rate of recurrence > unit of > as measured in
high frequency1842
low frequency1900
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > frequency > specific frequencies
high frequency1842
natural frequency1873
resonant frequency1897
resonance frequency1898
low frequency1928
modulation frequency1930
quench frequency1938
gyrofrequency1941
Nyquist frequency1963
1839 Guy's Hosp. Rep. 4 71 In persons of weak constitution..the same low frequency of the pulse is often observed.
1884 W. A. Guy & J. Harley Hooper's Physician's Vade Mecum (ed. 10) iv. 169 The pulse of the one was never above 84, while the pulse of the other was counted as high as 180... The low frequency in the first case was thought to be due to the state of the brain.
1900 M. A. Oudin Standard Polyphase Apparatus & Syst. xiv. 242 Transmissions of power are accomplished at a comparatively low frequency.
1920 Whittaker's Electr. Engineer's Pocket-bk. (ed. 4) 348 The result..has been the adoption of two frequencies, a medium frequency for general power and lighting, and a low frequency for systems supplying rotary converters.
1928 Daily Mail 25 July 18/1 The best Gramophone and Wireless Sets at present in use fail to reproduce the low-frequency of bass notes in anything like proper proportion.
1943 F. E. Terman Radio Engineers' Handbk. v. 409 A power supply having low internal impedance at low frequencies is also helpful.
1954 Proc. IRE 42 1074/2 The output of this network is amplified, then passes through..a filter that rolls off the low frequencies.
2001 Sci. News 1 Sept. 134/3 Such devices use filters to convert the low frequency of the human voice into high-frequency waves.
2. A low rate of occurrence over a particular period of time or in a given sample.
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the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [noun]
rarenessa1530
rarity1542
seldomness1561
unfrequency1611
infrequence1644
infrequency1677
low frequency1899
1899 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng. 10 765 The deficiency [in rainy days]..being nearly as marked in districts..where the total quantity of rain was practically normal, as in other districts where..a low frequency might naturally have been expected.
1935 J. S. Huxley & A. C. Haddon We Europeans ix. 267 Our picture of the human species will be like a contour-map, a region of high frequency for, say, round-headedness being separated from another similar peak by a ‘valley’ of low frequency.
1977 Ann. Internal Med. 86 454/2 The relatively low frequency of severe reactions.
1999 J. M. Weiner & L. G. Lipson in C. J. Rosen et al. Aging Skeleton vi. 55 Hutchinson-Guilford..is an inherited disorder thought to be sporadic..in as much as it has a low frequency of recurrence in families.
B. adj. Usually hyphenated.
1. Characterized by a low frequency (sense A. 1); (of equipment) that operates at or deals with low frequencies.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [adjective] > of specific frequency
low frequency1873
high frequency1891
radio frequency1915
1873 U.S. Patent 139,459 3/2 A low frequency oscillatory current is set up.
1900 Engineering 28 Sept. 412/3 Low frequency induction telegraphy experiments..were not considered in this report.
1926 J. S. Huxley Ess. Pop. Sci. xvii. 191 The special sense-organs for perceiving low-frequency vibrations in water.
1934 B.B.C. Year-bk. 385 The output from the microphone is taken to a two-stage low-frequency amplifier.
1973 E. Boyd & R. Parkes Dark Number viii. 83 Some stimuli are so reverberant they just hum on as a low-frequency signal programmed into your unconscious.
1997 AOPA Pilot Nov. 54 (caption) The radio is just as it looked when new, although there are no longer many low-frequency navaids for it to tune.
2010 Nature 21 Oct. 927/2 A type of very low-frequency plasma wave called a chorus wave does the job.
2. That occurs relatively rarely. Also: characterized by a low rate of occurrence of something.
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the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adjective]
seld1398
seldom1483
rare1565
secular1599
unfrequent1611
straggling1618
infrequent1622
unobvious1643
far-between1743
rarish1772
unwonted1785
sporadic1842
low frequency1946
1946 Classical Jrnl. 41 261/1 Already knowing..all the words, except those supplied immediately below the text (as being low-frequency non-memory words or forms).
1957 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xxviii. 78 Low-frequency verbs like asseverate, reiterate, aver, etc.,..would rarely be initials without that, or parentheticals.
1971 Brit. Med. Bull. 27 19/1 Much of the risk to people from tribes where the frequency [of cancer of the penis] is high is lost when they move to low-frequency areas.
2011 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 7 Feb. (Finance) 43 Catastrophes such as floods, cyclones and earthquakes are low frequency events but with massive correlated cost.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1839