PLANET

planet, major planet

(noun) (astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction

planet

(noun) any celestial body (other than comets or satellites) that revolves around a star

satellite, planet

(noun) a person who follows or serves another

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

planet (plural planets)

(now, historical or astrology) Each of the seven major bodies which move relative to the fixed stars in the night sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. [from 14^thc.]

(astronomy) A body which orbits the Sun directly and is massive enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium (effectively meaning a spheroid) and to dominate its orbit; specifically, the eight major bodies of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. (Pluto was considered a planet until 2006 and has now been reclassified as a dwarf planet.) [from 17^thc.]

A large body which directly orbits any star (or star cluster) but which has not attained nuclear fusion.

In phrases such as the planet, this planet, sometimes refers to the Earth.

Usage notes

The term planet originally meant any star which wandered across the sky, and generally included comets and the Sun and Moon. With the Copernican revolution, the Earth was recognized as a planet, and the Sun was seen to be fundamentally different. The Galileian satellites of Jupiter were at first called planets (satellite planets), but later reclassified along with the Moon. The first asteroids were also thought to be planets, but were reclassified when it was realized that there were a great many of them, crossing each other's orbits, in a zone where only a single planet had been expected. Likewise, Pluto was found where an outer planet had been expected, but doubts were raised when it turned out to cross Neptune's orbit and to be much smaller than the expectation required. When Eris, an outer body more massive than Pluto, was discovered, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially defined the word planet as above. However, a significant minority have refused to accept the IAU definition. Many simply continue with the nine planets that had been recognized prior to the discovery of Eris. Others are of the opinion that orbital parameters should be irrelevant, and that any equilibrium (spherical) body in orbit around a star is a planet; there are likely several hundred such bodies in the Solar system. Still others argue that orbiting a star should also be irrelevant, thus re-accepting the Galileian satellites (as well as a dozen other moons) as planets.

Note that the 2006 IAU definition defines a planet in respect to the Sun, and is thus technically inapplicable to exoplanets.

Synonyms

• wandering star

• wanderstar

Hypernyms

• planemo

Hyponyms

• binary planet

• Blue Planet

• carbide planet

• carbon planet

• classical planet

• diamond planet

• double planet

• dual planet

• dwarf planet (structurally)

• exoplanet

• extrasolar planet

• free-floating planet

• giant planet

• inner planet

• interstellar planet

• major planet

• mesoplanet

• minor planet (structurally)

• outer planet

• Planet Earth

• primary planet

• Red Planet

• rogue planet

• satellite planet

• satellite planet

• silicon planet

• supergiant planet

• superplanet

• terrestrial planet

• water planet

Anagrams

• Plante, pental, platen

Source: Wiktionary

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Plan"et, n. Etym: [OE. planete, F. planète, L. planeta, fr. Gr.

1. (Astron.)

Definition: A celestial body which revolves about the sun in an orbit of a moderate degree of eccentricity. It is distinguished from a comet by the absence of a coma, and by having a less eccentric orbit. See Solar system.

Note: The term planet was first used to distinguish those stars which have an apparent motion through the constellations from the fixed stars, which retain their relative places unchanged. The inferior planets are Mercury and Venus, which are nearer to the sun than is the earth; the superior planets are Mars, the asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, which are farther from the sun than is the earth. Primary planets are those which revolve about the sun; secondary planets, or moons, are those which revolve around the primary planets as satellites, and at the same time revolve with them about the sun.

2. A star, as influencing the fate of a men. There's some ill planet reigns. Shak. Planet gear. (Mach.) See Epicyclic train, under Epicyclic.

– Planet wheel, a gear wheel which revolves around the wheel with which it meshes, in an epicyclic train.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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