asteroid
nounEtymology 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.
asteroid
noun/ˈæst(ə)ɹɔɪd/
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.
1
Astronomy, Natural sciences 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.
2
Astronomy, Natural sciences In the Solar System, such a body that orbits within the orbit of Jupiter.
- The orbital planes of asteroids, minor bodies that circle the Sun mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, are often more tilted ...2007, Hannu Karttunen et al., editors, Fundamental Astronomy, 5th edition, page 131:
- Derived terms
- Apohele asteroid, asterite, asteroidal, asteroid belt, asteroidlike, Aten asteroid, Atira asteroid, binary asteroid, disasteroid, icesteroid, iceteroid, interasteroid, kuiperoid, Vatira asteroid, ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim asteroid
- Related terms
- aster, asterisk, asterism, minor planet, astroid, comet, exoasteroid, meteor, meteorite, planetoid