Etymology of the English word astronomy
the English word
astronomyderived from the Old French word
astronomiederived from the Late Latin word
astronomia (astronomy, science of heavenly bodies)
derived from the Greek word
astronomia, ἀστρονομία
using the Greek prefix
astro-derived from the Greek word
astron, ἄστρον (properly, a constellation; put for a single star (natural or artificial))
derived from the Greek word
aster, ἀστήρ (star; a star (as strown over the sky), literally or figuratively)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*ster-using the Greek suffix
-nomia, -νομία
derived from the Greek word
nomos, νόμος (law; name; law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), genitive case (regulation), specially, (of Moses (including the volume); also of the Gospel), or figuratively (a principle))
derived from the Greek word
nemein, νέμω
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*nem-Date
The earliest known usage of astronomy in English dates from the 13th century.
Derivations in English
archaeoastronomyCognates
Dutch
astronomie, French
astronomie, German
Astronomie, Norwegian
astronomi, Romanian
astronomie, Swedish
astronomiUsage
Word found in Modern English
