adj. Alternately contracting and dilating, as the heart; pulsating. [Late Latin systalticus, from Greek sustaltikos, from sustellein, to contract : sun-, syn- + stellein, to send; see stel- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.