nutation
Americannoun
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an act or instance of nodding one's head, especially involuntarily or spasmodically.
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Botany. spontaneous movements of plant parts during growth.
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Astronomy. the periodic oscillation observed in the precession of the earth's axis and the precession of the equinoxes.
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Mechanics. the variation of the inclination of the axis of a gyroscope to the vertical.
noun
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astronomy a periodic variation in the precession of the earth's axis causing the earth's poles to oscillate about their mean position
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physics a periodic variation in the uniform precession of the axis of any spinning body, such as a gyroscope, about the horizontal
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Also called: circumnutation. the spiral growth of a shoot, tendril, or similar plant organ, caused by variation in the growth rate in different parts
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the act or an instance of nodding the head
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A small, cyclic variation of the Earth's axis of rotation with a period of 18.6 years, caused by tidal forces (mostly due to the gravity of the Moon). Nutation is a small and relatively rapid oscillation of the axis superimposed on the larger and much slower oscillation known as precession. Although discovered in 1728 by the British astronomer James Bradley (1693–1762), nutation was not explained until two decades later.
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A slight curving or circular movement in a stem, as of a twining plant, caused by irregular growth rates of different parts.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of nutation
1605–15; < Latin nūtātiōn- (stem of nūtātiō ), equivalent to nūtāt ( us ) (past participle of nūtāre to nod repeatedly; nū- nod + -tā- frequentative suffix + -tus past participle ending) + -iōn- -ion; cf. numen
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But how many people are aware that pizzlesprung is a Kentucky word to describe the weary, or that nutation is the wobble in the earth's axis caused by the pull of the moon?
From Time Magazine Archive
The sun-flower follows the course of the sun by nutation, not by twisting its stem.
From The Botanic Garden. Part II. Containing the Loves of the Plants. a Poem. With Philosophical Notes. by Darwin, Erasmus
During this period, Bradley, more fortunate on the other side of the Channel, immortalized himself by the discovery of aberration and nutation.
From Biographies of Distinguished Scientific Men by Grant, Robert
Commonly this nutation is slight or hardly observable.
From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa
The mass of the moon comes out much greater by our theory than nutation gives.
From Outlines of a Mechanical Theory of Storms Containing the True Law of Lunar Influence by Bassnett, Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
