asteroid

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Asteroid (disambiguation)

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• enPR: ăs'tə-roid", IPA^(key): /ˈæst(ə)ɹɔɪd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Etymology 1

English Wikipedia has an article on:

asteroid

Wikipedia

From aster +‎ -oid, lit. "star-like". Coined by William Herschel.

Noun

asteroid (plural asteroids)

1. (astronomy) A naturally occurring solid object, which is smaller than a planet, larger than a meteoroid and not a comet, that orbits a star and often has an irregular shape.
2. (astronomy) In the Solar system, such a body that orbits within the orbit of Jupiter
   • 2007, Hannu Karttunen et al., editors, Fundamental Astronomy, 5th edition, page 131:

     The orbital planes of asteroids, minor bodies that circle the Sun mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, are often more tilted ...

Usage notes

The term "asteroid" has never been precisely defined. It was coined for objects which looked like stars in a telescope but moved like planets. These were known from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and were later found co-orbiting with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids) and within the orbit of Mars. They were naturally distinguished from comets, which did not look at all starlike. Starting in the 1970s, small non-cometary bodies were found outside the orbit of Jupiter, and usage became divided as to whether to call these "asteroids" as well. Some astronomers restrict the term "asteroid" to rocky or rocky-icy bodies with orbits up to Jupiter. They may retain the term planetoid for all small bodies, and thus tend to use it for icy or rocky-icy bodies beyond Jupiter, or may use dedicated words such as centaurs, Kuiper belt objects, transneptunian objects, etc. for the latter. Other astronomers use "asteroid" for all non-cometary bodies smaller than a planet, even large ones such as Sedna and (occasionally) Pluto. However, the distinction between asteroid and comet is an artificial one; many outer "asteroids" would become comets if they ventured nearer the Sun. The IAU terminology since 2006 has been small Solar System body for any body that orbits the Sun directly and whose shape is not dominated by gravity.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• astroid
• comet
• exoasteroid
• meteor
• meteorite
• planetoid

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀστεροειδής (asteroeidḗs), from ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”) + εἶδος (eîdos, “form”). Analyzable as aster- +‎ -oid

Noun

asteroid (plural asteroids)

1. (zoology) Any member of the taxonomic class Asteroidea; a starfish.

Further reading

• “asteroid”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “asteroid”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• ideators

Czech

Czech Wikipedia has an article on:

asteroid

Wikipedia ^cs

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

asteroid m inan

1. asteroid

Declension

Related terms

• See astro-

See also

• planetka

Further reading

• asteroid in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu
• asteroid in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• asteroid in Internetová jazyková příručka

Estonian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑsteˈroi̯d̥/, , /ˈɑsteroi̯d̥/,

Noun

asteroid (genitive asteroidi, partitive asteroidi)

1. asteroid

Declension

Further reading

• “asteroid”, in Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

Indonesian

Etymology

From English asteroid.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: as‧té‧ro‧id

Noun

astéroid (first-person possessive asteroidku, second-person possessive asteroidmu, third-person possessive asteroidnya)

1. (astronomy) asteroid

   Synonym: planetoid

Further reading

• “asteroid” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French astéroïde.

Noun

asteroid m (plural asteroizi)

1. asteroid

Declension

Further reading

• asteroid in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Serbo-Croatian

Serbo-Croatian Wikipedia has an article on:

asteroid

Wikipedia ^sh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /asterǒiːd/

Noun

asteròīd m (Cyrillic spelling астеро̀ӣд)

1. asteroid

Declension

Further reading

• “asteroid” in Hrvatski jezični portal

Slovene

Slovene Wikipedia has an article on:

asteroid

Wikipedia ^sl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /astɛrɔíːt/

Noun

asteroȋd m inan

1. asteroid

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Further reading

• “asteroid”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “asteroid”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːd

Noun

asteroid c

1. asteroid

Declension