entry
satellite
/ˈsætəlaɪt/Object orbiting a larger body; dependent associate
From Latin satellite (attendant or companion).
from Latin satelles (“attendant”). Ultimately perhaps of Etruscan origin.
from Middle French satellite
from Middle French satellite
Word Ancestry
from Latin satelles (“attendant”). Ultimately perhaps of Etruscan origin.
from Middle French satellite
from Middle French satellite
Picture an important Roman official moving through the city with attendants clustered around him: each follower was a Latin satelles. Centuries later, Middle French borrowed the word as satellite, and astronomers turned the human entourage into a celestial one—a smaller body traveling around a larger master. In 1610, after Galileo’s telescopic observations of Jupiter’s moons, the “attendant” metaphor became especially vivid: planets could have companions too. The political sense followed naturally, describing a weaker country orbiting a more powerful one, while the twentieth century put the word into hardware and launched its attendants into space. A satellite, in other words, is still fundamentally an entourage member—only now its boss may be Jupiter, a GPS network, or an intelligence agency.
The Story
Picture an important Roman official moving through the city with attendants clustered around him: each follower was a Latin satelles. Centuries later, Middle French borrowed the word as satellite, and astronomers turned the human entourage into a celestial one—a smaller body traveling around a larger master. In 1610, after Galileo’s telescopic observations of Jupiter’s moons, the “attendant” metaphor became especially vivid: planets could have companions too. The political sense followed naturally, describing a weaker country orbiting a more powerful one, while the twentieth century put the word into hardware and launched its attendants into space. A satellite, in other words, is still fundamentally an entourage member—only now its boss may be Jupiter, a GPS network, or an intelligence agency.
Modern Usage
A person hovering around someone romantically without success; also a classroom prank involving a staple-covered eraser
Kin & Kindred
From 'satellite'·attendant or companion
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary