from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Nutation \Nu*ta"tion\, n. [L. nutatio a nodding, fr. nutare to
nod: cf. F. nutation.]
1. The act of nodding.
[1913 Webster]
So from the midmost the nutation spreads,
Round and more round, o'er all the sea of heads.
--Pope.
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2. (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.
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3. (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.
[1913 Webster]