comet English · revision 1028

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɒmɪt/, /ˈkɑmət/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|comete]], partly [[inh|ang|comēta]] and partly [[bor|fro|comete]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la|comēta]], [[der|grc|κομήτης|tr=komḗtēs|t=long-haired]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''kómē'' “hair of the head”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The full Greek phrase was ''astḗr komḗtēs'' “long-haired star”, from the resemblance of the tail to streaming hair.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A celestial body moving about the sun, with a bright head and a tail of light (1154).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative name goes back to Aristotle, who used Greek ''kómē'' for the luminous tail and ''komḗtēs'' for the comet.^(AHD) Visible only near the sun, comets were long regarded as omens of disaster;^(Etymonline) Edmond Halley showed in 1682 that many return periodically.^(Etymonline) The word has been used figuratively from 1579.^(OED 1989) Wine made in a year of a notable comet, ''comet wine'' (1833), was reputed to be especially good.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1154 – the celestial body.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle English ''comete'' (Barnhart, Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1579 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1689 – an old card game (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1833 – ''comet wine''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A celestial body made mainly of ice and dust, with a usually very [[eccentric]] [[orbit]] about the [[sun]], which near the sun shows a fuzzy head round a bright [[nucleus]] and often one or more long tails.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cometary]]

+ * [[cometic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coma]]

+ * [[meteor]]

+ * [[asteroid]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}