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seesaw

Pronunciation: /ˈsiː.sɔː/

The English word “seesaw” has 10 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A structure composed of a plank, balanced in the middle, used as a game in which one person goes up as the other goes down.
  2. The game or pastime of seesawing.
  3. A series of up-and-down movements.
  4. A series of alternating movements or feelings.
  5. An abnormal breathing pattern caused by airway obstruction, characterized by paradoxical chest and abdominal movement.
  6. A tactic in which a piece repeatedly gains material, while simultaneously creating an inescapable series of alternating direct and discovered checks.

verb

  1. To use a seesaw.
  2. To fluctuate.
  3. To cause to move backward and forward in a seesaw fashion.

adjective

  1. Fluctuating.

Etymology

Probably a frequentative imitative of rhythmic back-and-forth, up-and-down or zigzagging motion, such as teeter-totter, zigzag, flip-flop, ping pong, etc., under the umbrella term of reduplication; also likely influenced by the verbs see and saw of either present or past tense.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.