Meaning

verb express or signify by nodding

noun a sign of assent or salutation or command

verb lower and raise the head, as to indicate assent or agreement or confirmation

originFrom Middle English nodden, probably from an unrecorded Old English *hnodian (“to nod, shake the head”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnodōn, from Proto-Germanic *hnudōną (“to beat, rivet, pound, push”), from Proto-Indo-European *kendʰ-, from *ken- (“to scratch, scrape, rub”). Compare Old High German hnotōn (“to shake”), hnutten (“to shake, rattle, vibrate”) (> modern dialectal German notteln,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0