ἀστεροειδής

Forms

ἀστεροειδής (asteroeidḗs) m or f (neuter ἀστεροειδές); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr) + -ειδής (-eidḗs), “star-like”, the second element meaning “having the form of”.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a line of Euripides' Andromeda, which Aristophanes quotes in the Thesmophoriazusae: it speaks of the “starry” back of the holy upper air.^[4][5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Philo and Plutarch it means “like a star”, of natures, rays of light and bodies, and Dioscorides uses the adverb of something that spreads in a star-like way on water.^[4][5] It was always rare: GLAUx counts eight instances.^[7]

In 1802 the astronomer William Herschel probably coined English asteroid from it, for the small planets between Mars and Jupiter.^[3] Modern Greek αστεροειδής (asteroidís) continues the ancient sense “star-like” as a learned word, and as a noun it names an asteroid, a sense taken from French astéroïde.^[8]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Euripides calls the sky “starry” in the Andromeda.^[4][5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes quotes the line in the Thesmophoriazusae.^[6][7]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Philo uses it for “star-like”.^[4][5]
• 1st century AD – Dioscorides uses the adverb “like a star”.^[4]
• 1802 – English asteroid is coined from it, probably by William Herschel.^[3]
• Modern Greek – The noun αστεροειδής (asteroidís) names an asteroid.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Starry, studded with stars.^[5][4][9]
2. Star-like.^[5][4][6]

Related words

• ἀστήρ (astḗr)
• εἶδος (eîdos)
• English asteroid

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
7. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli