Nutant to Nyula
Nutant
(Nu"tant) a. [L. nutans, p. pr. of nutare to nod, v. intens. fr. nuere (in comp.) to nod; cf. Gr.
.] Nodding; having the top bent downward.
Nutation
(Nu*ta"tion) n. [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.) 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.
Nutbreaker
(Nut"break`er) n. (Zoöl.) (a) The European nuthatch. (b) The nutcracker.
Nut-brown
(Nut"-brown`) a. Brown as a nut long kept and dried. "The spicy nutbrown ale." Milton.
Nutcracker
(Nut"crack`er) n.
1. An instrument for cracking nuts.
2. (Zoöl.) (a) A European bird allied to the magpie and crow. Its color is dark brown, spotted with white.
It feeds on nuts, seeds, and insects. (b) The American, or Clarke's, nutcracker (Picicorvus Columbianus)
of Western North America.
Nutgall
(Nut"gall`) n. A more or less round gall resembling a nut, esp. one of those produced on the
oak and used in the arts. See Gall, Gallnut.
Nuthatch
(Nut"hatch`) n. [OE. nuthake. See 2d Hack.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of birds
of the genus Sitta, as the European species The white-breasted nuthatch (S. Carolinensis), the red-
breasted nuthatch the pygmy nuthatch and others, are American.
Nuthook
(Nut"hook`) n.
1. A hook at the end of a pole to pull down boughs for gathering the nuts.
2. A thief who steals by means of a hook; also, a bailiff who hooks or seizes malefactors. Shak.
Nutjobber
(Nut"job`ber) n. (Zoöl.) The nuthatch. [Prov. Eng.]
Nutlet
(Nut"let) n. (Bot.) A small nut; also, the stone of a drupe.
Nutmeg
(Nut"meg) n. [OE. notemuge; note nut + OF. muge musk, of the same origin as E. musk; cf.
OF. noix muguette nutmeg, F. noix muscade. See Nut, and Musk.] (Bot.) The kernel of the fruit of
the nutmeg tree a native of the Molucca Islands, but cultivated elsewhere in the tropics.
This fruit is a nearly spherical drupe, of the size of a pear, of a yellowish color without and almost white
within. This opens into two nearly equal longitudinal valves, inclosing the nut surrounded by its aril,
which is mace The nutmeg is an aromatic, very grateful to the taste and smell, and much used in cookery.
Other species of Myristica yield nutmegs of inferior quality.
American, Calabash, or Jamaica, nutmeg, the fruit of a tropical shrub It is about the size of an
orange, and contains many aromatic seeds imbedded in pulp. — Brazilian nutmeg, the fruit of a lauraceous
tree, Cryptocarya moschata. — California nutmeg, tree of the Yew family (Torreya Californica), growing
in the Western United States, and having a seed which resembles a nutmeg in appearance, but is strongly
