pendulouslyadv.
/ˈpɛndjᵿləsli/, /ˈpɛndʒᵿləsli/, U.S. /ˈpɛndʒələsli/, /ˈpɛndjələsli/ In a pendulous manner; so as to hang or swing; with a swaying movement. Also figurative: waveringly, undecidedly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > [adverb]
pendulously1633
breathlessly1797
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > [adverb] > swinging
pendulously1633
a-swing1876
1633 W. Prynne Histrio-mastix 152 Mans corrupt nature is farre more pendulously propense to vitious, than to good examples.
1698 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 20 2 I left an Eye in the Wire, to suspend the whole Barometer..that it might hang pendulously.
1712 S. Cobb tr. E. Holdsworth Mouse-trap 15 Within the Dome a slender Wire depends..Which pendulously wantons here and there, And at the slightest Touch plays loose in Air.
1873 L. Wallace Fair God vii. vii. 474 Between the work of yesterday and that to come his mind played pendulously.
1882 E. O'Donovan Merv Oasis I. x. 175 The fruit hanging pendulously above the heads of the passers-by.
1928 L. MacNeice Oxf. Poetry 35 The spider pendulously waits Stranded in the unroaded air.
1997 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 84 215 There are two seeds per locule, attached pendulously.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adv.1633