TY - JOUR
TI - Discovery of the origin of the word asteroid and the Related Terms asteroidal, planetoid, planetkin, planetule, and cometoid
AU - Cunningham, Clifford J.
TI - Discovery of the origin of the word asteroid and the Related Terms asteroidal, planetoid, planetkin, planetule, and cometoid
AB - 
	Asteroid is now one of the most widely used words in English. For more than two centuries it has been assumed that the astronomer William Herschel created the word, but that assumption can be shown to be false. This paper reveals for the first time the true identity of the person who coined the word asteroid, and the origins of five other related words: asteroidal, planetoid, planetkin, planetule and cometoid. In the cases of asteroidal and cometoid, this paper corrects errors in the OED.
VL - 2015
IS - Volume 20, Issue 1
PY - 2015
SN - 1427-8219
C1 - 2084-3836
SP - 47
EP - 62
DO - 10.4467/20843836SE.15.003.2789
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/studia-etymologica-cracoviensia/article/discovery-of-the-origin-of-the-word-asteroid-and-the-related-terms-asteroidal-planetoid-planetkin-planetule-and-cometoid
KW - astronomy
KW - asteroid
KW - planetoid
KW - planetule
KW - Herschel