meteor

• n. 隕石; [気象]大気現象

ギリシャ語のta meteora、天体の現象、空の上、meta-、on、-eora、空中、空気を伴う語源から。後に特に流星に使われるようになったが、これは流星の方が代表的だからであろう。原義については、空中流星、風、水性流星、雨、発光流星、オーロラ、火成流星、流星を参照のこと。

meteor

meteor: [15] Greek metéōron meant literally ‘something high up’, and was used to denote ‘phenomena in the sky or heavens’. It was a compound noun formed from the intensive prefix metá- and *eōr-, a variant form of the base of the verb aeírein ‘raise’. When English first took it over, via medieval Latin meteōrum, it was still in the sense ‘phenomenon of the atmosphere or weather’ (‘hoar frosts … and such like cold meteors’, Abraham Fleming, Panoplie of Epistles 1576), an application which survives, of course, in the derivative meteorology [17].

The earliest evidence of the specific use of meteor for a ‘shooting star’ comes from the end of the 16th century. The derivative meteorite, for a meteor that hits the ground, was coined in the early 19th century.
=> meteorology

meteor (n.)

late 15c., "any atmospheric phenomenon," from Middle French meteore (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin meteorum (nominative meteora), from Greek ta meteora "the celestial phenomena, things in heaven above," plural of meteoron, literally "thing high up," noun use of neuter of meteoros (adj.) "high up, raised from the ground, hanging," from meta- "over, beyond" (see meta-) + -aoros "lifted, hovering in air," related to aeirein "to raise" (see aorta).

Specific sense of "fireball, shooting star" is attested from 1590s. Atmospheric phenomena were formerly classified as aerial meteors (wind), aqueous meteors (rain, snow, hail), luminous meteors (aurora, rainbows), and igneous meteors (lightning, shooting stars).

1. A bright shooting star，or meteor ，is an unforgettable sight.

明るい流星、あるいは隕石は、忘れられない光景です。

2.Like a flash of lightning，the meteor shot across the sky.

流星が閃光のように空をかすめた。

3.It was made by a meteor that fell from space.

流星が宇宙から落下したことによるものです。

4.At several specific times of a year，great meteor showers occur.

1年のいくつかの特定の時間に、大規模な流星群が発生します。

5.A meteor shot across the sky.

流星が空をかすめた。