asteroid
|as-ter-oid|
/ˈæs.tə.rɔɪd/
small, star-like space rock
Etymology
'asteroid' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'asteroeidēs', where 'astēr' meant 'star' and '-oeidēs' meant 'having the form of' or 'likeness'.
'asteroeidēs' passed into New/Modern Latin as 'asteroides' and was adopted into English in the early 19th century (the form 'asteroid' was coined and popularized around 1802).
Initially it meant 'star-like' (in appearance), but over time it came to denote the specific class of small rocky bodies orbiting the Sun now called 'asteroids'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a small rocky (or metallic) body that orbits the Sun, especially one of the many found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Scientists detected a near-Earth asteroid on a potentially hazardous trajectory.
Synonyms
Noun 2
originally (and etymologically) a body that appears star-like in a telescope — 'star-like' in appearance; historically used to describe their point-like, star-like image.
Early observers named them asteroids because through their telescopes they resembled stars.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/06 01:46