'astronaut' originates from modern coinage using Greek elements: Greek 'astron' meaning 'star' and 'nautes' meaning 'sailor'.

'astronaut' was formed in English by combining the prefix 'astro-' (from Greek 'astron') and the suffix '-naut' (from Greek 'nautes'), influenced by similar coinages in French ('astronaute') and other languages, and entered common English usage in the 20th century to denote space travelers.

Initially coined with the literal sense 'star-sailor', it evolved to its current meaning 'a person who travels to or works in outer space.'