Search for: planet
761 Etymology dictionary, p. astrophotography (n.).2
"application of photography to the stars, sun, planets, etc.," 1858, from astro- + photography .
762 Etymology dictionary, p. cerium (n.).2
… minor planet, "whose discovery (in 1801) was then one of the most striking facts in physical science" [OED]. The planet was named for the Roman goddess Ceres, from …
763 Etymology dictionary, p. climate (n.).3
… particular planet) or 12 (dominated by zodiac signs).
764 Etymology dictionary, p. combust (v.).2
… for planets when near the sun.
765 Etymology dictionary, p. conjunction (n.).2
… of planets or stars "meeting" in the same part of the sky, from Old French conjonction "union, joining, sexual intercourse" (12c.), from Latin coniunctionem (nominative …
766 Etymology dictionary, p. constellation (n.).2
… (of planets)" and directly from Late Latin constellationem (nominative constellatio ) "a collection of stars," especially as supposed to exert influence on …
767 Etymology dictionary, p. constellation (n.).3
… of planets ("stars") relative to the zodiac signs on a given day, usually the day of one's birth, as a determiner of one's character. "I folwed ay myn inclinacioun …
768 Etymology dictionary, p. Copernicus.2
… the planets revolve about the sun. His great work was "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium." Related: Copernican (1660s).
769 Etymology dictionary, p. crater (n.).3
… other planets. Meaning "cavity formed by the explosion of a military mine" is from 1839. The Battle of the Crater in the U.S. Civil War was July 30, 1864.
770 Etymology dictionary, p. culminate (v.).2
… or planet, "come to or be on the highest point of altitude; come to or be on the meridian," from Late Latin culminatus past participle of culminare "to top, to crown …
771 Etymology dictionary, p. decile (adj.).2
1670s in astrology, of planets, "one-tenth part of the zodiac distant from one another;" 1882 in statistics; from French décile or Medieval Latin *decilis, from Latin decem "ten" (from PIE root *dekm- "ten") on the model of quintilis, sextilis .
772 Etymology dictionary, p. deferent (adj.).2
… of planets.
773 Etymology dictionary, p. disaster (n.).2
… "star, planet," from Latin astrum, from Greek astron "star" (from PIE root *ster- (2) "star").
774 Etymology dictionary, p. disaster (n.).3
… a planet, and "star" here is probably meant in the astrological sense of "destiny, fortune, fate." Compare Medieval Latin astrum sinistrum "misfortune," literally …
775 Etymology dictionary, p. disposition (n.).3
Meaning "frame of mind, attitude, inclination; temperament, natural tendency or constitution of the mind" (late 14c.) are from astrological use of the word for "position of a planet as a determining influence" (late 14c.). Related: Dispositional .
776 Etymology dictionary, p. earth (n.).3
The earth considered as a planet was so called from c. 1400. Use in old chemistry is from 1728. Earth-mover "large digging machine" is from 1940.
777 Etymology dictionary, p. earthman (n.).2
also earth-man, 1860, "a spirit of nature; a demon who lives below the ground," from earth (n.) + man (n.). Science fiction sense of "inhabitant of the planet Earth" first attested 1949 in writing of Robert Heinlein.
778 Etymology dictionary, p. ecosphere (n.).2
region around a star where conditions allow life-bearing planets to exist, 1953; see eco- + sphere. Apparently coined by German-born U.S. physician and space medicine pioneer Hubertus Strughold (1898-1986).
779 Etymology dictionary, p. elongation (n.).2
… a planet from the sun as it appears from the earth;" early 15c., "extension, spreading," from Medieval Latin elongationem (nominative elongatio ), noun of action …
780 Etymology dictionary, p. ether (n.).3
… and planets. Conceived of as a purer form of fire or air, or as a fifth element. From 17c.-19c., it was the scientific word for an assumed "frame of reference" for forces …