astable
|a-sta-ble|
🇺🇸
/ˈeɪsteɪbəl/
🇬🇧
/ˈeɪsteɪb(ə)l/
not stable; no fixed state
Etymology
'astable' is formed from the prefix 'a-' (from Greek, meaning 'not' or 'without') + 'stable' (from Latin 'stabilis', meaning 'standing firm').
'stable' entered English via Old French 'estable' from Latin 'stabilis'; the technical coinage 'astable' arose in the 20th century in electronics by adding the negative prefix 'a-' to 'stable'.
Initially, the components meant 'not' (a-) and 'standing firm' (stable); combined, 'astable' came to mean 'not stable' and in electronics specifically 'lacking any stable state so as to oscillate'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a circuit (short for 'astable multivibrator') that has no stable states and therefore continually changes state, producing a periodic or oscillating output.
They used an astable to blink the LED at about 2 Hz.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 1
having no stable state; not resting in a fixed condition — used especially of electronic circuits that do not have a stable output and therefore oscillate continuously (e.g., 'an astable multivibrator').
The astable oscillator generates a continuous square wave without any external trigger.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/05 09:26