satellite

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A machine sent into space to orbit the Earth and send back signals or information.

   Weather forecasts rely on images from satellites.

2. 2
   noun

   A natural object, such as a moon, that orbits a larger one.

   The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.

3. 3
   noun

   Television signals received through equipment that uses satellites.

   We watch foreign channels on satellite at home.

4. 4
   adj

   Smaller and dependent on a larger central place or power.

   Several satellite towns surround the capital city.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Satellite comes from Latin satelles, “attendant” or “guard,” and entered English in that personal sense in the mid-16th century. In 1611 Johannes Kepler used the Latin plural satellites for Jupiter’s moons, leading to the astronomical sense. The term was extended in 1936 to a theoretical human-made orbiting object, before the first such satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched in 1957.

From Middle French satellite, from Latin satelles (“attendant”). Ultimately perhaps of Etruscan origin.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary