precession
noun
Forms precessions præcession
- noun (uncountable) Precedence.
- noun (physics, countable) The wobbling motion of the axis of a spinning body when there is an external force acting on the axis.
- noun (astronomy, uncountable) The slow gyration of the earth's axis around the pole of the ecliptic, caused mainly by the gravitational torque of the sun and moon.
- noun Any of several slow changes in an astronomical body's rotational or orbital parameters.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English precessioun, precession, from Medieval Latin prēcessiōn-, prēcessio, from Latin praecēdō.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L. praecedere, praecessum, to go before: cf. F. précession. See Precede.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “precession”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details