nutation
noun
- type of motion in astronomy. A component of the rotating motion of a planet under the influence of gravitational pull by moons, other planets or the central star
- the spiral movement of a plant organ during growth, also known as circumnutation
Wiktionary
noun
Etymology: 1610s, from Latin nūtātiō (“nodding”), from nūtō (“to nod”). Compare mutation.
- A bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body.
- A nodding motion (of the head etc.).
- Any of several irregularities in the precession of the equinoxes caused by varying torque applied to the Earth by the Sun and the Moon.
- The circular motion of the tip of a growing shoot.