Noun: precession pree'se-shun [N. Amer], pri'se-shun [Brit]
- The motion of a spinning body (as a top) in which it wobbles so that the axis of rotation sweeps out a cone
"The precession of the Earth's axis is responsible for the changing pole star over millennia"
- The act of preceding in time, order or rank (as in a ceremony)
"The precession of the equinoxes is a well-known astronomical phenomenon";
- precedence, precedency
Derived forms: precessions
Encyclopedia: Precession