Nutated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A term describing the process of a plant or stem bending as it grows, often in response to light or gravity
2. referring to the variations in angular motion during the growth of a structure
3. used to indicate a change in direction or curvature related to developmental growth patterns of organisms

Etymology: "Nutated" is the past form of "nutate," a botanical verb meaning a growing stem or tendril that bends or sways in a slow circle as it grows. The verb first appeared in print in 1880, but it was built backwards from the older noun "nutation," which dates to the 1610s. English speakers took "nutation" from Latin "nutatio," meaning "a nodding," from the verb "nutare," "to nod." Scholars then formed "nutate" by adding the common English verb-forming ending "-ate" to that noun, a process called back-formation. The Latin "nutare" is a frequentative-style relative of "nuere," "to nod," and it traces to the ancient Indo-European root *neu-, which also gave rise to words for nodding and bowing. The same root sits behind the English word "mutate," which shares the "-ate" ending and a similar sense of change, though the two words came into English along separate paths.

Synonyms: twisted, bent