quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- Neptune




- late 14c., "god of the sea," from Latin Neptunus, son of Saturn, brother of Jupiter, the Roman god of the sea (later identified with Greek Poseidon), probably from PIE root *nebh- "cloud" (source of Latin nebula "fog, mist, cloud;" see nebula), via a sense of "moist, wet." The planet so named was discovered by Galle in 1846. Until the identification of Pluto in 1930, it was the most distant planet known.
- Neptunian (adj.)




- 1650s as "pertaining to the god Neptune;" 1794 in the geological sense, referring to actions of water, from Neptune + -ian. Usually opposed to volcanic or plutonic. As a noun meaning "inhabitant of the planet Neptune" it is recorded from 1870.
- neptunium (n.)




- 1941, from Neptune + element ending -ium. Named for its relative position in the periodic table, next after Uranium, as the planet Neptune is one beyond Uranus. See also plutonium.