Where does “comet” come from?

Comet comes from Middle English comete, Old English comēta, Old French comete, and Latin cometes, from Ancient Greek κομήτης, ultimately derived from κόμη meaning hair.

comet (English): A celestial body consisting mainly of ice, dust...

Definitions

  1. A celestial body consisting mainly of ice, dust...

Ancestry of “comet”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcometecomet
2Old Frenchcometecomet
3LatincometesA comet, meteor, shooting star; A portent of...
4Ancient Greekκομήτηςlong-haired; long-haired; comet; longhaired
5Ancient Greekκόμηhair of the head
6Latinκομεωto care for

Words derived from “comet

Every word from Latin κομεω