entrainment
noun

- the process of making something have the same pattern or rhythm as something else

- a phenomenon in which two oscillators interact with each other, typically through physical or chemical means, to synchronize their oscillations

The Cambridge Dictionary, National Library of Medicine

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WORD ORIGIN

“Entrainment" comes from the French entraîner (meaning "to drag along" or "to draw"), from the Latin: in- (meaning "in" or "into") and trahere (meaning "to draw" or "to pull").

The French word train originally referred to something drawn or pulled along, like the trailing part of a gown or a sequence of pack animals pulling loads.

The term entered scientific usage in the 1800s, first in physics and meteorology to describe how one system of moving fluid or particles pulls another along with it. For example, when wind drags water droplets along, or when one current influences another.

Over time, the meaning expanded to include various forms of synchronization:

- In biology: the alignment of organisms' circadian rhythms with environmental cues.

- In physics: when two oscillating systems sync up their rhythms.

- In music/acoustics: when rhythms or frequencies align and influence each other.

- In psychology: when people unconsciously mirror each other's behaviours or patterns.

The core meaning of "being drawn along" or "pulled into rhythm with" has remained consistent across these different applications.

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EXPERIMENT WITH ENTRAINMENT

Here are four fascinating ways to explore entrainment, in company or alone:

- The Pendulum Effect = while sitting across from someone, gently sway your body, or sway one leg crossed over the other at your natural rhythm. Watch how you both unconsciously begin to sway in sync, especially during engaging conversations. Try this at a cafe or park bench.

- Speaking Rhythm = match the pace, melody, and volume of your counterpart’s speech. Slowly reduce your intensity to calm their excitement or anger,… or increase your intensity to arouse their interest, or to emphasize an important point.

- Synchronize with Nature = sit in a natural setting and focus on entraining your breath to the rhythm of a moving element, like waves, rustling leaves, or birdsong. Notice how this synchronization shifts your mental or emotional state.

- Art or Doodling Test = draw or doodle while listening to music or natural rhythms. Pay attention to how your strokes naturally align with or resist the beat.

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SYNONYMS

aligning frequencies, alignment, attunement, be in sync (in tune with, in lockstep, in step, on the same wavelength), blending, catching the rhythm, coalescing, coming into harmony, coordination, dancing to the same beat, ENTRAINMENT, falling in line (into step, into sync), following suit (the same groove), getting in groove (into rhythm), going with the flow, harmonization, in concert with, in harmony, in lockstep, in phase, keep the beat, keeping in time (pace, march to the beat of one's drum, marching in step (to the same beat), matching beats (cadence, frequencies, pace, patterns, rhythms), meshing, mirroring, moving as one (in concert, in tandem), on the same wavelength, oscillating together, playing in tune, resonance, resonating together, rhythm matching, riding the same wave, singing from the same hymn sheet, slipping into rhythm, stepping in line (in time), strike a chord, synchronization, syncing up, syncopation, tuning in, vibrating in harmony, walking in step (the same path)

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“In group dances, ENTRAINMENT is less about talent and more about not stepping on someone’s toes."

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