Aquarius

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English Aquarius,^[2] borrowed from Latin aquārius (“water carrier”), properly an adjective meaning "pertaining to water",^[3][4][5][6] from aqua (“water”) with the suffix -ārius.^[2][7] As the name of the constellation, the Latin translates Ancient Greek Ὑδροχόος (Hydrokhóos, “water-pourer”), the old Greek name.^[4][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The constellation and the eleventh sign of the zodiac: in Old English according to the Shorter Oxford and in late Old English according to Etymonline.^[6][4] Merriam-Webster dates it to the 14th century, and the OED, in an entry not fully revised, quotes Trevisa from before 1398.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline calls the constellation faint, and adds that the Aquarians of the 1580s were a Christian sect who used water instead of wine at the Lord's Supper.^[4] The use for a person born under the sign is from 1894.^[3] In the 20th century the name was attached to an astrological age: Etymonline finds allusions to the Aquarian Age from 1913.^[4] The OED records the Age of Aquarius, a time of freedom and brotherhood said to have begun in the 1960s, from the 1967 song Aquarius.^[3][4] An Aquarian Exposition was the subtitle of the Woodstock festival of 1969.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1398 – the constellation and sign, in Trevisa.^[3]
• 1894 – a person born under the sign.^[3]
• 1913 – the Aquarian Age, alluded to.^[4]
• 1967 – an astrological age of freedom and brotherhood.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. In astrology, the eleventh sign of the zodiac, the Water Carrier, associated with the period from about 20 January to 18 February.^[6][8][2]
2. A person born under this sign.^[2][8][3]
3. A southern constellation between Capricorn and Pisces.^[8][2][6]
4. An astrological age of freedom and brotherhood, said to have begun in the 1960s.^[3][6]

Word family

• Aquarian
• Age of Aquarius

Related words

• aqua
• aquatic
• aquarium
• Capricorn
• Pisces

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins