planet
nounUK /ˈplænɪt/ · CA, US /ˈplænət/
Etymology
From Middle English planete, from Old French planete, from Latin planeta, planetes, from Ancient Greek πλανήτης (planḗtēs, “wanderer”) (itself an ellipsis of ἀστέρες πλανῆται (astéres planêtai, “wandering stars”)), from Ancient Greek πλανάω (planáō, “wander about, stray”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Latin pālor (“wander about, stray”), Old Norse flana (“to rush about”), and Norwegian flanta (“to wander about”). More at flaunt. So called because they have apparent motion, unlike the "fixed" stars. Originally including also the moon and sun but not the Earth; modern scientific sense of "world that orbits a star" is from 1630s in English. The Greek word is an enlarged form of πλάνης (plánēs, “who wanders around, wanderer”), also "wandering star, planet", in medicine "unstable temperature." Displaced native Old English tungol.
Astrology, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences Historical Each of the seven major bodies which move relative to the fixed stars in the night sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
- Be they not dreames of humane vanity,[…]to make of our knowne earth a bright shining planet [translating astre]?1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 260:
- The moon[…]began to rise from her bed, where she had slumbered away the day, in order to sit up all night. Jones had not travelled far before he paid his compliments to that beautiful planet, and, turning to his companion, asked him if he had ever beheld so delicious an evening?1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society, published 1973, page 288:
1 more example
- Another of Boehme's followers, the Welshman Morgan Llwyd, also believed that the seven planets could be found within man.1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 361:
Astronomy, Natural sciences Historical Any body that orbits the Sun, including the asteroids (as minor planets) and sometimes the moons of those bodies (as satellite planets)
- A Discovrse concerning a New Planet. Tending to prove, That 'tis probable our Earth is one of the Planets1640, John Wilkins, A Discovrse concerning a New Planet. Tending to prove, That 'tis probable our Earth is one of the Planets, title:
Astronomy, Natural sciences A body which is massive enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium (generally resulting in being an ellipsoid) but not enough to attain nuclear fusion and, in IAU usage, which directly orbits a star (or multiple star) and dominates the region of its orbit; specifically, in the case of the Solar system, the eight major bodies of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
- Their decision will force a rewrite of science textbooks because the solar system is now a place with eight planets and three newly defined "dwarf planets"—a new category of object that includes Pluto.2006 December 22, Alok Jha, The Guardian:
- The closest planet takes just over nine Earth days to complete an orbit around the star, and the most distant takes about 55 days. All of the planets have quicker revolutions around their star than Mercury, which takes 88 days to complete one lap around the sun.2023 November 29, Ashley Strickland, “Astronomers discover nearby six-planet solar system with ‘pristine configuration’”, in CNN:
construed with the or this: The Earth.
- "My tastes," he said, still smiling, "incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet." And, to tease her and arouse her to combat: "I prefer a farandole to a nocturne; I'd rather have a painting than an etching; Mr. Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects;[…]."1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]:[…]; perhaps to moralise on the oneness or fragility of the planet, or to see humanity for the small and circumscribed thing that it is;[…].2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
- Synonyms
- planet
- Antonyms
- dwarf planet
- Derived terms
58 terms
antiplanet, aquaplanet, blanet, deplanetize, forbidden planet, gas giant planet, homeplanet, interplanetary, multiplanet, nonplanet, on what planet, planetal, planetality, planetar, planetarium, planetary, planetbound, planetcide, planetdom, planeted, planeteer, planetesimal, planetfall, planetful, planet gear, planethood, planet-hunting, planetical, planetless, planetlike, planetographer, planetography, planetoid, planetologist, planetology, planetophysics, planet placement, planetquake, planetrise, planetscape, planetship, planetside, planet-sized, planet-stricken, planetward, planetwards, planet wheel, planetwide, ploonet, psychroplanet, quasi-planet, secondary planet, sister planet, sun and planet gear, sword and planet, there is no Planet B, thermoplanet, Urinal of the Planets- Related terms
- planetary body, planetary-mass object, planetary object, planet-ruler, planet-struck, moon, orbit
- Hypernyms
- planemo, celestial body
- Hyponyms
38 terms
chthonian planet, dwarf planet, exoplanet, exosolar planet, gas giant, Georgian planet, Goldilocks planet, ham planet, home planet, ice giant, ice giant planet, ice planet, Jovian planet, malefic planet, mean planet, minor planet, Neptunian planet, ocean planet, panthalassic planet, protoplanet, rocky planet, ruling planet, telluric planet, terrestrial planet, tertiary planet, transitional planet, Trojan planet, giant planet, major planet, silicate planet, silicon planet, carbide planet, carbon planet, mesoplanet, superplanet, super-Earth, inner planet, outer planet- Holonyms
- solar system