circumnutate
Americanverb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of circumnutate
1875–80; circum- + nutate < Latin nūtātus, past participle of nūtāre to nod in assent, sway, totter
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.
See Examples For:
Unless this movement is admitted to be one of circumnutation, such leaves do not circumnutate at all, and this would be a monstrous anomaly.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
Nor did it sink down during the 28th, but continued to circumnutate about the same place.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
With these facts before us, bearing also in mind that the tendrils of not a few plants consist of modified peduncles, we may admit without much doubt that all growing flower-stems circumnutate.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
These circumnutate in a conspicuous manner, and are thus aided in passing between and over surrounding obstacles.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
That an arched hypocotyl or epicotyl, with the two legs fixed in the ground, should be able to circumnutate, seemed to us, until we had read Prof. Wiesner's observations, an inexplicable fact.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
The lines traced were strongly zigzag, and as the bead twice returned nearly parallel to its former course in two different directions, there could be no doubt that the arched hypocotyl circumnutated.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
Movement of bead of filament magnified 20 times, here reduced to one-half of original scale. that the epicotyl circumnutated during the whole time.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
There can be no doubt that this little plant circumnutated.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
Two older seedlings were similarly observed, excepting that one of them was kept in the dark; their hypocotyls also circumnutated, but in a more simple manner.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
On August 1st it circumnutated about the same small space, and again descended at night.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
During these five days the leaf diverged, and its apex descended at first in an almost straight line; but during the two latter days it zigzagged so much that it was evidently circumnutating.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
The movements of the flowers of Cyclamen Persicum were not observed; but the peduncle, whilst the pod is forming, increases much in length, and bows itself down by a circumnutating movement.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
The circumnutating movements of a terminal leaflet on a rather old leaf were traced during two days, and were simple.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
The circumnutating movement was traced during 47 h.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
The circumnutating movement, therefore, of this young leaf was strongly marked.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
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.
