Etymograph

English

nutation

Nutation comes from Latin nūtātiō ‘nodding’, from nūtō ‘to nod’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *new-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*new-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*nuō1‘to nod’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūtō2‘to nod’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūtātiō2‘nodding’
  6. Englishtodaynutation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin nuto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English nutation

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*new-Wiktionary, Latin nutoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowōWiktionary, Latin nutoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*nuōWiktionary, Latin nuto‘to nod’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūtōWiktionary, English nutation‘to nod’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūtātiōWiktionary, English nutation‘nodding’
  6. EnglishtodaynutationWiktionary, English nutation

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *new-

need, novel, renew, novice, nouveau, renovate, 11 more

through Latin *nuō ‘to nod’

innuendo, numinous, 3 more

Today it means

noun A bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nutation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin nuto. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *new- / nutation

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