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asteroid

as·te·roid

UK/ˈæst(ə)ɹɔɪd/ US/ˈæstɜrˌɔɪd/ fairly common
noun (1) adjective (1)

noun

1.

any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter)

Synonyms

adjective

1.

shaped like a star

Synonyms
Similar

Origin

]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.

Phrases

  • Apohele asteroid
  • asteroid belt
  • Aten asteroid
  • Atira asteroid
  • binary asteroid
  • minor planet
  • Vatira asteroid
  • ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim asteroid

Related words

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Broader terms

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Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.