asteroid

Definitions

aster (star) + -oid (resembling) = 'star-like.' Early telescopes showed these objects as tiny points of light, indistinguishable from stars — so they were named for what they looked like, not what they were (small worlds, not stars).

Why It Means This

Asteroid is a naming accident frozen in language. William Herschel coined it because, through the telescopes of 1802, these bodies looked exactly like stars — mere points of light. We later learned they are rocky mini-planets, but the word still calls them 'star-shaped,' a reminder that names often record first impressions rather than facts.

Common Collocations

• 1.asteroid belt小行星带
• 2.asteroid impact小行星撞击
• 3.near-Earth asteroid近地小行星

Example Sentences

• 1.

  A massive asteroid is thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs.

• 2.

  Most asteroids orbit the Sun in a belt between Mars and Jupiter.