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Precessional

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
pre·ces·sion  (pr-sshn)
n.
1. The act or state of preceding; precedence.
2. Physics The motion of the axis of a spinning body, such as the wobble of a spinning top, when there is an external force acting on the axis.
3. Astronomy
a. Precession of the equinoxes.
b. A slow gyration of the earth's axis around the pole of the ecliptic, caused mainly by the gravitational pull of the sun, moon, and other planets on the earth's equatorial bulge.
[Late Latin praecessi, praecessin-, from Latin praecessus, past participle of praecdere, to go before; see precede.]
pre·cession·al adj.
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I thought of the great precessional cycle that the pole of the earth describes.
The Time Machine by Wells, H.G. View in context
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