Nutation

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Origin

First attested in 1610s. Derived from Latin nutatio, from nūtō ("I nod").

Full definition of nutation

Noun

1. (physics) a bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body
2. a nodding motion (of the head etc.)
3. (astronomy) any of several irregularities in the precession of the equinoxes caused by varying torque applied to the Earth by the Sun and the Moon
4. (botany) the circular motion of the tip of a growing shoot

Related terms

• circumnutation
• counternutation
• nutate