Planet goes back to ancient Greek planēt- (literally, "wanderer"), which is derived from planasthai, a Greek verb which means "to wander." The word was originally applied to any of seven visible celestial bodies which appeared to move independently of the fixed stars—the sun, the moon, ...
Earth (Gaia) is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic. There are, of course, many other names for our planet in other languages. Jupiter (Zeus) was the King of the Gods in Roman mythology, making the...
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Uranus, named after the Greek god of the sky and father to Saturn. Test your understanding with our Planet Uranus Quiz Planet Neptune Neptune, a deep sea-blue colour, named after the Roman god of the sea. Test your understanding with our Planet Neptune Quiz ...
4.One of the seven revolving astrological celestial bodies that in conjunction with the stars are believed to influence human affairs and personalities. [Middle English, from Old Frenchplanete, from Late Latinplanēta, from Greekplanētēs, variant ofplanēs, planēt-, fromplanāsthai,to wander; se...
[Late LatinŪranus, from Greekouranos,heaven, the god Uranus, Sense 2, from New LatinŪranussince Uranus was Saturn's father just as Saturn was Jupiter's father (thus making the order of the planets' names reflect mythological genealogy).] ...
339 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) : "[Harmonia describes the ancient Tablets of Phanes which contained cosmic propheciesset down by the primordial creator-god Ophion-Phanes :] ‘I have oracles of history on seven tablets, and the tablets bear the names of the seven planets....
The Greek god of the heavens, Uranus was an early supreme god who was the son and mate of Gaia, the creation goddess. An unpredictable, creative, and tyrannical god, he ate his children so they could not usurp his power in the future. He was father of the Titans, of which Cronus (...
Log in Advertisementplanet (n.) late Old English planete, in old astronomy, "star other than a fixed star; star revolving in an orbit," from Old French planete (Modern French planète) and directly from Late Latin planeta, from Greek planētēs, from (asteres) planētai "wandering (stars)...
Atlas is one of those names that was previously thought too powerful for a baby boy, who would have to be strong enough to carry the world on his shoulders. Now Atlas has joined the pantheon of Greek and Roman god and goddess names in the realm of possibility, along with Mars, Zeus an...