‖n. [ L., he is sick. ] (Camb. Univ.) A medical certificate that a student is ill. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ L. circumrotare; circum + rotare to turn round. ] To rotate about. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of rolling or revolving round, as a wheel; circumvolution; the state of being whirled round. J. Gregory. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Pref. circum- + rotary, rotatory. ] turning, rolling, or whirling round. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Circular motion in a direction contrary to some other circular motion. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Dextro- + rotatory. ] (Chem. & Opt.) Turning, or causing to turn, toward the right hand; esp., turning the plane of polarization of luminous rays toward the right hand; as, dextrorotatory crystals, sugars, etc. Cf. Levorotatory.

a. (Physics) Not rotatory; passing from one point to another by a movement other than rotation; -- said of the movement of parts of a liquid or yielding mass. Sir W. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Same as Levorotatory. Cf. Dextrorotatory. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Written also lævorotation. ] [ Levo- + rotation. ] (Physics & Chem.) Rotation in the direction of an outgoing right-handed screw; counter-clockwise rotation; -- applied chiefly to the turning of the plane of polarization of light. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Levo- + rotatory. ] (Chem. & Physics) Turning or rotating the plane of polarization of light towards the left; -- applied to crystals and compounds exhibiting optical activity, such as levulose, left-handed quartz crystals, etc. Opposite of dextrorotatory. [ Written also lævorotatory. ] [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

a. [ Gr. protatiko`s: cf. L. protaticus, F. protatique. ] Of or pertaining to the protasis of an ancient play; introductory. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. rotatus, p. p. of rotare to turn round like a wheel, fr. rota wheel. See Rotary, and cf. Roue. ] Having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped; as, a rotate spicule or scale; a rotate corolla, i.e., a monopetalous corolla with a flattish border, and no tube or a very short one. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rotated p. pr. & vb. n. Rotating. ] 1. To turn, as a wheel, round an axis; to revolve. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To perform any act, function, or operation in turn, to hold office in turn; as, to rotate in office. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To cause to turn round or revolve, as a wheel around an axle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to succeed in turn; esp., to cause to succeed some one, or to be succeeded by some one, in office. [ Colloq. ] “Both, after a brief service, were rotated out of office.” Harper's Mag. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Turned round, as a wheel; also, wheel-shaped; rotate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. rotatio: cf. F. rotation. ] 1. The act of turning, as a wheel or a solid body on its axis, as distinguished from the progressive motion of a revolving round another body or a distant point; thus, the daily turning of the earth on its axis is a rotation; its annual motion round the sun is a revolution. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any return or succesion in a series. [ 1913 Webster ]

Moment of rotation. See Moment of inertia, under Moment. --
Rotation in office, the practice of changing public officers at frequent intervals by discharges and substitutions. --
Rotation of crops, the practices of cultivating an orderly succession of different crops on the same land. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or resulting from, rotation; of the nature of, or characterized by, rotation; as, rotational velocity. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. rotatif. ] turning, as a wheel; rotary; rotational. [ 1913 Webster ]

This high rotative velocity of the sun must cause an equatorial rise of the solar atmosphere. Siemens. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rotative engine, a steam engine in which the reciprocating motion of the piston is transformed into a continuous rotary motion, as by means of a connecting rod, a working beam and crank, or an oscillating cylinder. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] 1. (Anat.) that which gives a rotary or rolling motion, as a muscle which partially rotates or turns some part on its axis. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metal.) A revolving reverberatory furnace. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. ] (Zool.) Same as Rotifera. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. rotatoire. See Rotate, Rotary. ] 1. Turning as on an axis; rotary. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Going in a circle; following in rotation or succession; as, rotatory assembles. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Opt.) Producing rotation of the plane of polarization; as, the rotatory power of bodies on light. See the Note under polarization. Nichol. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A rotifer. [ R. ] Kirby. [ 1913 Webster ]