asteroid
/ˈæst(ə)ɹɔɪd/ noun
Forms asteroids
- noun (astronomy) A naturally occurring solid object, which is smaller than a planet and a dwarf planet, larger than a meteoroid and not a comet, that orbits a star and often has an irregular shape.
- noun (astronomy) In the Solar System, such a body that orbits within the orbit of Jupiter.
- noun (zoology) Any member of the taxonomic class Asteroidea; a starfish.
Synonyms
Etymology
]Introduced by German–British astronomer William Herschel in 1802 upon the suggestion of classical scholar Charles Burney Jr. (1757–1817), the son of music historian Charles Burney, a friend of Herschel's. Probably coined as a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀστεροειδής (asteroeidḗs, “starlike”), from ἀστήρ (astḗr, “celestial body”) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, aster + -oid.
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀστεροειδής (asteroeidḗs), from ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”) + εἶδος (eîdos, “form”). Analyzable as aster- + -oid. Piecewise doublet of etymology 1. Compare also the botanical taxon Asteroideae.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A starlike body; esp. one of the numerous small planets whose orbits lie between those of Mars and Jupiter; --called also planetoids and minor planets.
Etymology [Gr. astéroïde. See Aster.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “asteroid”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details