Lexic.us

Definition of Nutation

1. Noun. Uncontrolled nodding.

Definition of Nutation

1. n. The act of nodding.

Definition of Nutation

1. Noun. (physics) a bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body ¹

2. Noun. a nodding motion (of the head etc.) ¹

3. Noun. (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 ¹

4. Noun. (botany) the circular motion of the tip of a growing shoot ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Nutation

1. an oscillatory movement of the axis of a rotating body [n -S]

Medical Definition of Nutation

1. 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. 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. 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)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Nutation

Literary usage of Nutation

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy: Embracing the General by William Chauvenet (1900)
"But the true pole of the equator has at the same time a small subordinate motion around the mean pole, which is called nutation. This motion, if it existed ..."

2. A Compendium of Spherical Astronomy with Its Applications to the by Simon Newcomb (1906)
"change in the luni-solar precession, produced by the nutation. ... The term of nutation depending on the moon's node is more than 12 times as large as the ..."

3. The Advanced Part of A Treatise on the Dynamics of a System of Rigid Bodies by Edward John Routh (1892)
"To calculate the Lunar Precession and nutation. Let K be the pole of the ecliptic, M that of the lunar orbit, C the pole of the earth. ..."

4. Report of the Annual Meeting (1877)
"So far nothing can be considered as absolutely proved with reference to the interior solidity of the earth from precession and nutation ; but ..."

5. Botanical Gazette by University of Chicago, JSTOR (Organization) (1903)
"nutation IN BIDENS AND OTHER GENERA. (WITH FOUR FIGURES) THERE has long been a belief, regarded by many as a mere superstition, that the sunflower turns ..."

6. A Plain Elementary and Practical System of Natural Experimental Philosophy by John Ewing (1809)
"FOR THE nutation OR DEVIATION OF A STAR IN DECLINATION ... This nutation is additive for a northern, and sub- tractive for a southern star, if the place of ..."

7. A Treatise on Astronomy by Elias Loomis (1870)
"nutation. 188. The effect of the action of the sun and moon upon the earth's equatorial ring, depends upon their position with regard to the equator. ..."

Other Resources: