meteorite

Etymology

It is formed from English meteor + -ite;^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the OED compares French météorite, recorded in 1822,^[2] which Klein gives as the source.^[7] Meteor is from Old French meteore and Medieval Latin meteorum, from Ancient Greek μετέωρα (metéōra, “celestial phenomena”), the noun use of the neuter plural of μετέωρος (metéōros, “raised, lofty”).^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fallen meteor, a mass of rock or metal that has reached the earth from space: 1823, in the Monitor;^[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to 1818.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Such stones and masses of iron had been known since ancient times, but the idea that they had fallen from the sky only gained credence among scientists around 1800,^[5] and the word followed soon after.^[5][2] The OED's definition now includes fragments that reach the surface of another planet or of a planetary satellite.^[2] Earlier words for such stones include aerolite and siderite.^[4] Derivatives followed: meteoritic in the mid 19th century and meteoritics, the science of meteors and meteorites, in the early 20th.^[4]

Timeline

• 1823 – a fallen meteor, a mass of stone or metal from space.^[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to 1818.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A piece of rock or metal from space that has passed through the atmosphere and reached the ground, the remains of a meteoroid; it may be stony, iron, or stony iron.^[8][3][2]

Word family

• meteoritic
• meteoritics
• micrometeorite

Related words

• meteor
• meteoroid
• meteorology
• aerolite

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins