| nutation | 1. The act of nodding. "So from the midmost the nutation spreads, Round and more round, o'er all the sea of heads." (Pope) 2. <astronomy> 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. 3. <botany> 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. Circumnutation. Origin: L. Nutatio a nodding, fr. Nutare to nod: cf. F. Nutation. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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