nutation
(noun) uncontrolled nodding
Source: WordNet® 3.1
nutation (countable and uncountable, plural nutations)
(physics) A bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body.
A nodding motion (of the head etc.).
(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.
(botany) The circular motion of the tip of a growing shoot.
Source: Wiktionary
Nu*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. nutatio a nodding, fr. nutare to nod: cf. F. nutation.]
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. (Astron.)
Definition: 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. (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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
28 March 2025
(noun) a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
