cosmonaut

Where does the word "cosmonaut" come from? It comes from Greek kosmos, passing through Russian before entering English (1959).

Cosmonaut’s story begins in Greek: kosmos meant “the universe.” The universe, order, combined with nautes (sailor). By 1959, the word had taken hold in Russian as kosmonavt. Coined in the Soviet space program as the Russian counterpart to astronaut. It reached English by 1959 as cosmonaut. Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut in 1961. Today, cosmonaut means a Russian or Soviet astronaut.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient kosmos "the universe", the universe, order, combined with nautes (sailor).
2. Stage 2 · Russian · 1959 kosmonavt "a Soviet or Russian space traveler", coined in the Soviet space program as the Russian counterpart to astronaut.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1959 cosmonaut "a Russian or Soviet space traveler", Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut in 1961.