precession

pre•ces•sion n.

the act or fact of preceding;
precedence.
Metallurgy, Mechanics[Mech.]the motion of the rotation axis of a rigid body, as a spinning top, when a disturbing torque is applied while the body is rotating such that the rotation axis describes a cone, with the vertical through the vertex of the body as axis of the cone, and the motion of the rotating body is perpendicular to the direction of the torque.
Astronomy
- the slow, conical motion of the earth's axis of rotation, caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon, and, to a smaller extent, of the planets, on the equatorial bulge of the earth.
- See precession of the equinoxes.

Late Latin praecessiōn- (stem of praecessiō) a going before, advance, equivalent. to Latin praecess(us) (past participle of praecēdere to precede) + -iōn- -ion; see cession
1300–50

pre•ces′sion•al, adj.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

precession /prɪˈsɛʃən/ n

the act of preceding
See precession of the equinoxes
the motion of a spinning body, such as a top, gyroscope, or planet, in which it wobbles so that the axis of rotation sweeps out a cone

Etymology: 16th Century: from Late Latin praecessiō a going in advance, from Latin praecēdere to precedepreˈcessional adj preˈcessionally adv

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