nutate
verbEtymology First attested in 1880; back-formation from nutation (1610s) on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin nūtātiō (“a nodding”), from nūtō (“to nod”), from Proto-Indo-European *neu-. Compare mutate.
1
To rock or sway involuntarily.
2
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To wobble; to make a circular rocking motion.
- Derived terms
- circumnutate