NUTATION • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Nutation

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noun

Nutation n.

The act of nodding. "So from the midmost the nutation spreads, Round and more round, o'er all the sea of heads."

(Astron.) A very small libratory motion of the earth's axis, by which its inclination to the plane of the ecliptic is constantly varying by a small amount.

(Bot.)

(a)

The motion of a flower in following the apparent movement of the sun, from the east in the morning to the west in the evening.

(b)

Circumnutation.

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Etymology of 'Nutation'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Nutation" Quotes from Famous Books

... during the revolving movement the internodes become bowed in every direction. The movement is, in fact, a continuous self-bowing of the whole shoot, successively directed to all points of the compass; and has been well designated by Sachs as a revolving nutation. ...

— The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants • Charles Darwin

Words linked to "Nutation" : nod, nutate