- pronunciation:
- plae
niht
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition: |
a large body in outer space that circles around the sun or another star. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are all planets in our solar system.
- similar words:
- world
|
| related words: |
globe |
The word
planet entered English eight hundred years ago, during the Middle Ages. "Planet" comes from the ancient Greek term
asteres planetai or "wandering stars." In 1640, astronomers began using the word "planet" in its modern sense of a body that circles a star (the sun).