# nutation

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
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.

## Etymology
1610s, from Latin nūtātiō (“nodding”), from nūtō (“I nod”). Compare mutation.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nutation