diastole

[ dahy-as-tl-ee, -tl-ee ]

noun

1. Physiology. the normal rhythmical dilatation of the heart during which the chambers are filling with blood. Compare systole ( def 1 ).
2. Prosody. the lengthening of a syllable regularly short, especially before a pause or at the ictus.

diastole

/ ˌdaɪəˈstɒlɪk; daɪˈæstəlɪ /

noun

1. the dilatation of the chambers of the heart that follows each contraction, during which they refill with blood Compare systole

diastole

/ dī-ăs′tə-lē /

1. The period during the normal beating of the heart in which the chambers of the heart dilate and fill with blood. Diastole of the atria occurs before diastole of the ventricles.
2. Compare systole

Derived Forms

• diastolic, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of diastole¹

1570–80; < Late Latin diastolē < Greek diastolḗ a putting asunder, dilation, lengthening; compare diastéllein to set apart, equivalent to dia- dia- + stéllein to put, place

Word History and Origins

Origin of diastole¹

C16: via Late Latin from Greek: an expansion, from diastellein to expand, from dia- + stellein to place, bring together, make ready

Example Sentences

He has a feeling for the systole and diastole, the contraction and release, of a body’s mechanisms.

From New York Times

And those who prefer not to follow fads at all need only wait a while: much of today’s playful punctuation will soon become unfashionable, dead as the diastole and the diple.

From Economist

By prolonging the cardiac diastole and contracting the arterioles it allows the left ventricle to fill, restores the arterial tension, diminishes correspondingly the intravenous pressure, and promotes absorption.

From Project Gutenberg

It arrests the heart in diastole, the organ afterwards contracts slowly—possibly in rapid rigor mortis.

From Project Gutenberg

He fails to create an ideal world in which both tragedy and comedy are necessary to the spiritual order, as are the systole and diastole of the heart to an organised being.

From Project Gutenberg