Proserpina
UK /prəʊˈsɜːpɪnə/ · US /proʊˈsɝpɪnə/ proper noun
- proper noun (Roman mythology) The goddess of springtime, queen of the underworld and the wife of Pluto; the Roman equivalent of Persephone.
- proper noun (astronomy) 26 Proserpina, a main-belt asteroid.
- proper noun (astrology) A fictitious planet beyond Pluto.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin Prōserpina from Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη (Persephónē) by metathesis perhaps first in Magna Graecia via a Sicilian Doric Greek Προσερπίνα (Proserpína) or Ionic Greek Προσερπίνη (Proserpínē), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pers-o- (“sheaf of corn, grain, seed”) and *gʷʰn̥-t- (“to strike”), meaning 'grain-thresher' or 'She-who-threshes-the-grain'.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Proserpina”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details