meteorite

Where does the word "meteorite" come from? It comes from Greek meteoros, passing through English before entering English (1818).

Meteorite’s story begins in Greek: meteoros meant “lofty, high in the air.” Aristotle's 'Meteorologica' dealt with things high in the air. By 1550s, the word had taken hold in English as meteor. Settled as the English word for a streak of light in the sky. It reached English by 1818 as meteorite. Formed with the mineral suffix -ite for a meteor's fragment that survives to reach the ground. Today, meteorite means a piece of rock or metal from space that survives its fall to the earth's surface.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient meteoros "lofty, high in the air", Aristotle's 'Meteorologica' dealt with things high in the air.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1550s meteor "a streak of light from a body burning in the atmosphere", settled as the English word for a streak of light in the sky.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1818 meteorite "a fragment of rock from space that reaches the ground", formed with the mineral suffix -ite for a meteor's fragment that survives to reach the ground.