nutation
noun
nutation is spelled N-U-T-A-T-I-O-N: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nutation means “A bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nutation is nutations.
How many letters and syllables are in nutation?
| Letters | 8: N-U-T-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 31 million words; the 169,822nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nutation?
Nutation appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nutation?
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nutation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nutation
- nutations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nutation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body.
- 2
A nodding motion (of the head etc.).
- 3
Any of several irregularities in the precession of the equinoxes caused by varying torque applied to the Earth by the Sun and the Moon.
- 4
The circular motion of the tip of a growing shoot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nutation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nutation come from?
1610s, from Latin nūtātiō (“nodding”), from nūtō (“to nod”). Compare mutation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).