comet

comet
\ \ [13] Comet means literally ‘the longhaired one’. Greek kómē meant ‘hair’, but it was also applied metaphorically to the tail of a comet, which was thought of as streaming out behind like a luxuriant head of hair being blown by the wind. Hence an astēr kométēs ‘longhaired star’ was the name given to a comet.
\ \ Eventually the adjective kométēs came to stand for the whole phrase, and it passed via Latin comēta and Old French comete into English.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Comet — bezeichnet: Verschiedene Schiffe: einen deutschen Fischdampfer, der in einen schweren Seeunfall verwickelt war, siehe Zusammenstoß der Comet mit der Cometen ein Kanonenboot I. Klasse der Preußischen und der Kaiserlichen Marine, siehe SMS Comet… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Comet V — New Jersey Transit Comet V #6057 leads Train #6648 into Morristown. Note the other three Comet V s in the set …   Wikipedia

  • Comet — Com et, n. [L. cometes, cometa, from Gr. ? comet, prop. long haired, fr. ? to wear long hair, fr. ? hair, akin to L. coma: cf. F. com[ e]te.] (Astron.) A member of the solar system which usually moves in an elongated orbit, approaching very near… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • comet — c.1200, from O.Fr. comete (12c., Mod.Fr. comète), from L. cometa, from Gk. (aster) kometes, lit. long haired (star), from kome hair of the head (Cf. koman let the hair grow long ), of unknown origin. So called from resemblance of a comet s tail… …   Etymology dictionary

  • COMET — ist ein von der Europäischen Union gefördertes internationales Projekt der beruflichen Erwachsenenbildung. Es wird vom Berufsförderungswerk Nürnberg gGmbH von September 2009 bis September 2011 durchgeführt und gehört zum Programm „Lebenslanges… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Comet — Comet, Comisch, Comma, S. in K …   Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart

  • comet — COMÉT s.n. v. cometă. Trimis de ana zecheru, 03.06.2008. Sursa: DEX 98 …   Dicționar Român

  • comet — ► NOUN ▪ a celestial object moving around the solar system, consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a diffuse tail. DERIVATIVES cometary adjective. ORIGIN Greek kom t s long haired star …   English terms dictionary

  • comet — [käm′it] n. [ME comete < OE cometa & OFr comete, both < L cometa < Gr komētēs, lit., long haired (star) < komē, lit., hair of the head] a small, frozen mass of dust and gas revolving around the sun in a parabolic or elliptical orbit:… …   English World dictionary

  • Comet — This article is about the astronomical object. For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). Comet Hale– …   Wikipedia

  • comet — cometary /kom i ter ee/, cometic /keuh met ik/, cometical, adj. cometlike, adj. /kom it/, n. Astron. a celestial body moving about the sun, usually in a highly eccentric orbit, consisting of a central mass surrounded by an envelope of dust and… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”