planet

[plan-it] /ˈplæn ɪt/

noun

Astronomy.

Also called major planet. any of the eight large heavenly bodies revolving about the sun and shining by reflected light: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune, in the order of their proximity to the sun. Until 2006, Pluto was classified as a planet ninth in order from the sun; it has been reclassified as a dwarf planet.
a similar body revolving about a star other than the sun.
(formerly) a celestial body moving in the sky, as distinguished from a fixed star, applied also to the sun and moon.

Astrology. the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto: considered sources of energy or consciousness in the interpretation of horoscopes.

Origin

1250-1300; Middle English planete (< Old French planète) < Late Latin planēta, planētēs (found only in plural planētae) < Greek (astéres) planḗtai literally, wandering (stars)

Examples from the web for planets

Those gentlemen who reach posterity are not much more numerous than the planets.
Nature, not mind, did the work that the sun does on the planets.
The periodic or compensating errors of the planets is another instance.
As do all the other signs, and the houses, and the planets.
Life starting could still be a rare phenomenon, and without comparison of other planets that remains a possibility.
There are for a start all sorts of beings on the planets and the sun, concerned with our welfare down here.
The logical thing to do is conserve for now and get ready to mine other planets.
But sometimes the planets align, and things are good.
We spend an entire semester talking about the planets, the galaxy, and the universe.
planets form from disks of swirling material that condense into solid bodies.

British Dictionary definitions for planets

planet

/ˈplænɪt/

noun

Also called major planet. any of the eight celestial bodies, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, that revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits and are illuminated by light from the sun

Also called extrasolar planet. any other celestial body revolving around a star, illuminated by light from that star

(astrology) any of the planets of the solar system, excluding the earth but including the sun and moon, each thought to rule one or sometimes two signs of the zodiac See also house (sense 9)

Word Origin

C12: via Old French from Late Latin planēta, from Greek planētēs wanderer, from planaein to wander

Word Origin and History for planets

planet

late Old English planete, from Old French planete (Modern French planète), from Late Latin planeta, from Greek planetes, from (asteres) planetai "wandering (stars)," from planasthai "to wander," of unknown origin, possibly from PIE *pele- (2) "flat, to spread" on notion of "spread out." So called because they have apparent motion, unlike the "fixed" stars. Originally including also the moon and sun; modern scientific sense of "world that orbits a star" is from 1630s.

planets in Science

planet

(plān'ĭt)
A large celestial body, smaller than a star but larger than an asteroid, that does not produce its own light but is illuminated by light from the star around which it revolves. In our solar system there are nine known planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Because of Pluto's small size—about two-thirds the diameter of Earth's moon—and its unusual orbit, many astronomers believe it should actually be classed as a Kuiper belt object rather than a planet. A planetlike body with more than about ten times the mass of Jupiter would be considered a brown dwarf rather than a planet. See also extrasolar planet, inner planet, outer planet.

planetary adjective

planets in Culture

planet definition

An object in orbit around a star. A planet does not give off its own light; rather, it shines by reflecting sunlight. Planets close to the sun are rocky. Those farther out consist mostly of gases and liquids.

Note: There are nine major planets, including the Earth, in orbit around our sun, along with many asteroids. (See solar system.)

Note: Scientists have discovered evidence for the existence of many planets that circle other stars.