meteor

See also: Meteor and meteor.

English

Etymology

From Middle French météore, from Old French, from Latin meteorum, from Ancient Greek μετέωρον (metéōron), from μετέωρος (metéōros, “raised from the ground, hanging, lofty”), from μετά (metá, “in the midst of, among, between”) (English meta) + ἀείρω (aeírō, “to lift, to heave, to raise up”).

The original sense of “atmospheric phenomenon” gave rise to meteorology, but the meaning of "meteor" is now restricted to extraterrestrial objects burning up as they enter the atmosphere.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtɪ.ə/, /ˈmiːtɪɔː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtiɚ/, [ˈmiːɾiɚ], /ˈmiːtiɔɹ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Homophone: meatier

Noun

meteor (plural meteors)

1. (now meteorology) An atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), luminous meteors (rainbows and aurora), and igneous or fiery meteors (lightning and shooting stars). [from 16th c.]
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene i:

     Europe, where the Sun dares ſcarce appeare,
     For freezing Meteors and congealed cold: […]

   • 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 10:

     The twilight, the meteors call'd fire-balls, or flying dragons, and the northern lights, inhabit the higher regions of the atmosphere.

   • 1801, Robert Southey, “(please specify the page)”, in Thalaba the Destroyer, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] [F]or T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Cottle, […], →OCLC:

     A meteor in the hazy air / Play’d before his path; / Before him now it roll’d / A globe of livid fire […] Anon to Thalaba it mov’d, / And wrapt him in its pale innocuous fire.

2. A fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or falling star. [from 16th c.]
3. (juggling) A prop similar to poi balls, in that it is twirled at the end of a cord or cable.
4. (martial arts) A striking weapon resembling a track and field hammer consisting of a weight swung at the end of a cable or chain.
5. (figurative) Any short-lived source of wonderment.

Usage notes

• (streak of light in night sky): Not to be confused with meteoroid and meteorite (cause and remains of a meteor), or asteroid and comet (celestial bodies).

Quotations

• p. 1859 December, Herman Melville, “The Portent (1859)”

  But the streaming beard is shown

  (Weird John Brown),

  The meteor of the war.

Synonyms

• (streak of light in night sky): falling star, shooting star, faxed star, 🌠︎

Coordinate terms

• (astronomical phenomenon): asteroid, comet

Derived terms

meteor

• aerometeor
• Great Meteor
• hydrometeor
• lithometeor
• meteor hammer
• meteor bumper
• meteor shower
• meteor storm
• meteor strike
• meteorette
• meteoric
• meteorism
• meteorist
• meteorite
• meteoritic
• meteoriticist
• meteoritics
• meteorize
• meteorograph
• meteoroid
• meteoroidal
• meteorology
• meteoromancy
• meteorometer
• meteoroscope
• meteoroscopy
• meteorosophistical
• meteorous
• meteory

Translations

streak of light

Albanian: meteor (sq) m Arabic: شِهَاب (šihāb) Armenian: ասուպ (hy) (asup) Assamese: উল্কা (ulka) Asturian: meteoru m Azerbaijani: meteor Basque: meteoro Belarusian: метэо́р m (mjeteór) Bengali: উল্কা (bn) (ulka) Bulgarian: метеор m (meteor) Burmese: ဥက္ကာ (my) (ukka), ဥပါကြယ် (my) (u.pa-krai) Catalan: meteor (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 流星 (zh) (liúxīng) Cornish: steren-leski f, steren-wibya f Czech: meteor (cs) m, povětroň (cs) m, létavice f Danish: meteor (da) c or n Dutch: meteoriet (nl), vallende ster m Esperanto: meteoro (eo) Estonian: meteoor Finnish: meteori (fi), tähdenlento (fi) French: météore (fr) m Galician: meteoro (gl) m Georgian: მეტეორი (meṭeori) German: Meteor (de) m Greek: μετέωρο (el) n (metéoro) Hawaiian: akua lele, hōkū lele, koli Hebrew: מֶטֶאוֹר (he) m (meteór) Hindi: उल्का (hi) m (ulkā), शहाब (hi) m (śahāb) Hungarian: hullócsillag (hu) Icelandic: stjörnuhrap (is) n Irish: dreige f, meitéar m Italian: meteora (it) f Japanese: 流星 (ja) (りゅうせい, ryūsei), 流れ星 (ja) (nagareboshi) Kazakh: метеор (kk) (meteor) Khmer: អាកាសបាតុភូត (aakaah paato’pʰuut) Korean: 유성(流星) (ko) (yuseong), 류성(流星) (ko) (ryuseong) (North Korea) Kyrgyz: метеор (ky) (meteor) Lao: ດາວຕົກ (dāo tok), ອຸກກາ (ʼuk kā), ທຸມະເກດ (thu ma kēt) Latvian: meteors m Lithuanian: meteoras m Macedonian: метеор m (meteor) Malay: meteor, tahi bintang (ms) Malecite-Passamaquoddy: esqotewit anim Maltese: meteora f Manchu: ᡝᠶᡝᡵᡝ ᡠᠰᡳᡥᠠ (eyere usiha) Maori: kōkiri, matakōkiri, tūmatakōkiri, kōtiri, kōtiritiri Mi'kmaq: pugtewit anim Mongolian: солир (mn) (solir) Navajo: sǫʼ nanidéhígíí, sǫʼ náádiilwoʼígíí Norwegian: meteor m Occitan: meteòr (oc) m Pali: ukkā Pashto: اسماني تيږه f (asmānítíẓa), شهاب m (šahãb) Persian: شهاب (fa) (šahâb), شخانه (fa) (šaxâne), نیزک (neyzak) Polish: meteor (pl) m, spadająca gwiazda (pl) f Portuguese: meteoro (pt) m Punjabi: ਉਲਕਾ (pa) m (ulakā), ਕੇਤੂ m (ketū) Romanian: meteor (ro) Russian: метео́р (ru) m (meteór) Rwanda-Rundi: kibonumwe, kibona umwe Sanskrit: उल्का (sa) f (ulkā) Scottish Gaelic: dreag f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: метеор m Roman: meteor (sh) m Sicilian: mitèuru m Slovak: meteor (sk) m Slovene: meteor (sl) m Spanish: meteoro (es) m Swahili: kimondo (sw) class ki/vi Swedish: meteor (sv) c Tagalog: bulalakaw Tajik: метеор (meteor), шиҳоб (šihob) Telugu: ఉల్క (te) (ulka) Thai: ดาวตก (th) (daao-dtòk), อุกกาบาต (th) (ùk-gaa-bàat), กลาบาต (th) (gà-laa-bàat) Turkish: meteor (tr) Turkmen: meteor Ukrainian: метео́р m (meteór) Urdu: الکا m (ulkā) Uzbek: meteor (uz) Vietnamese: sao băng (vi) Welsh: seren wib f

juggling prop

striking weapon

Verb

meteor (third-person singular simple present meteors, present participle meteoring, simple past and past participle meteored)

1. (intransitive) To move at great speed.

Further reading

• meteor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• -ometer, emoter, ometer, remote

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [mə.teˈɔr]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [me.teˈor]

Noun

meteor m (plural meteors)

1. meteor

Czech

Czech Wikipedia has an article on:

meteor

Wikipedia ^cs

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɛtɛor]

Noun

meteor m inan

1. meteor (fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere)

   Synonyms: (dated) povětroň, létavice

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

• “meteor”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “meteor”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “meteor”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Danish

Noun

meteor c or n

1. (astronomy) meteor

Declension

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	meteor	meteoren meteoret	meteorer	meteorerne
genitive	meteors	meteorens meteorets	meteorers	meteorernes

Declension of meteor

Further reading

• “meteor” in Den Danske Ordbog

Hungarian

Etymology

From English meteor or German Meteor.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɛtɛor]
• Hyphenation: me‧te‧or
• Rhymes: -or

Noun

meteor (plural meteorok)

1. (astronomy) meteor (a fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere)

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	meteor	meteorok
accusative	meteort	meteorokat
dative	meteornak	meteoroknak
instrumental	meteorral	meteorokkal
causal-final	meteorért	meteorokért
translative	meteorrá	meteorokká
terminative	meteorig	meteorokig
essive-formal	meteorként	meteorokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	meteorban	meteorokban
superessive	meteoron	meteorokon
adessive	meteornál	meteoroknál
illative	meteorba	meteorokba
sublative	meteorra	meteorokra
allative	meteorhoz	meteorokhoz
elative	meteorból	meteorokból
delative	meteorról	meteorokról
ablative	meteortól	meteoroktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	meteoré	meteoroké
non-attributive possessive - plural	meteoréi	meteorokéi

Possessive forms of meteor
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	meteorom	meteorjaim
2nd person sing.	meteorod	meteorjaid
3rd person sing.	meteorja	meteorjai
1st person plural	meteorunk	meteorjaink
2nd person plural	meteorotok	meteorjaitok
3rd person plural	meteorjuk	meteorjaik

References

1. Tótfalusi, István. Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (’A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN

Further reading

• meteor in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

meteor

Wikipedia ^no

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μετέωρον (metéōron).

Noun

meteor m (definite singular meteoren, indefinite plural meteorer, definite plural meteorene)

1. a meteor

Synonyms

• stjerneskudd, stjerneskott

Derived terms

• meteoritt

References

• “meteor” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

meteor

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μετέωρον (metéōron).

Noun

meteor m (definite singular meteoren, indefinite plural meteorar, definite plural meteorane)

1. a meteor

Synonyms

• stjerneskot, stjerneskott

Derived terms

• meteoritt

References

• “meteor” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

meteor

Wikipedia ^pl

meteor

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μετέωρος (metéōros).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛˈtɛ.ɔr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛɔr
• Syllabification: me‧te‧or
• Homophone: Meteor

Noun

meteor m inan (related adjective meteorowy or meteoryczny)

1. (astronomy) meteor (atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon; these were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), luminous meteors (rainbows and aurora), and igneous or fiery meteors (lightning and shooting stars))

   Coordinate terms: meteoroid, meteoryt

2. (astronomy) meteor, falling star, shooting star (fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or falling star)

   Synonyms: meteoroid, spadająca gwiazda

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	meteor	meteory
genitive	meteoru	meteorów
dative	meteorowi	meteorom
accusative	meteor	meteory
instrumental	meteorem	meteorami
locative	meteorze	meteorach
vocative	meteorze	meteory

Declension of meteor

Further reading

• meteor in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• meteor in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• meteor in PWN's encyclopedia

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian meteora or French météore or German Meteor.

Noun

meteor m (plural meteori)

1. meteor (streak of light caused by extraterrestrial matter entering the atmosphere)

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	meteor	meteorul		meteori	meteorii
genitive-dative	meteor	meteorului		meteori	meteorilor
vocative	meteorule			meteorilor

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /metěoːr/
• Hyphenation: me‧te‧or

Noun

metèōr m (Cyrillic spelling метѐо̄р)

1. (astronomy) meteor

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	metèōr	meteori
genitive	meteóra	meteora
dative	meteoru	meteorima
accusative	meteor	meteore
vocative	meteoru / meteore	meteori
locative	meteoru	meteorima
instrumental	meteorom	meteorima

Declension of meteor

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

meteor

Wikipedia ^sv

Noun

meteor c

1. meteor

Declension

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	meteor	meteors
	definite	meteoren	meteorens
plural	indefinite	meteorer	meteorers
	definite	meteorerna	meteorernas

Declension of meteor

Related terms

• meteorisk
• meteorit

See also

• meteorologi

References

• meteor in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• meteor in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• meteor in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from French météorite.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: me‧te‧or

Noun

meteor (definite accusative meteoru, plural meteorlar)

1. meteor

See also

• meteoroloji

References

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “meteor”, in Nişanyan Sözlük