satellite

See also: Satellite

English

Etymology

From Middle French satellite, from Latin satelles (“attendant”). Ultimately perhaps of Etruscan origin.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsætəlaɪt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

satellite (plural satellites)

1. A moon or other smaller body orbiting a larger one. [from 17th c.]

   The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth.

   A spent upper stage is a derelict satellite.

2. A man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body, generally to relay information, data etc. to Earth. [from 20th c.]

   Many telecommunication satellites orbit at 36000km above the equator.

3. A country, state, office, building etc. which is under the jurisdiction, influence, or domination of another body. [from 19th c.]
4. (now rare) An attendant on an important person; a member of someone's retinue, often in a somewhat derogatory sense; a henchman. [from 16th c.]
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 3, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     We read in the Bible, that Nicanor the persecutor of Gods Law […] sent his Satellites to apprehend the good old man Rasias […].

   • 1826, Woodstock, Walter Scott, page 348:

     […] he would nevertheless have a better bargain of this tall satellite if they settled the debate betwixt them in the forest […]. Betwixt anxiety, therefore, vexation, and anger, Charles faced suddenly round on his pursuer […].

   • 1948, Willard E. Hawkins, The Technique of Fiction: A Basic Course in Story Writing, page 169:

     The unnamed chronicler in his Dupin stories was the first Dr. Watson type of satellite—a narrator who accompanies the detective on his exploits, exclaims over his brilliance […].

5. (colloquial, uncountable) Satellite TV; reception of television broadcasts via services that use man-made satellite technology. [from 20th c.]

   Do you have satellite at your house?

6. (grammar) A grammatical construct that takes various forms and may encode a path of movement, a change of state, or the grammatical aspect. Examples: "a bird flew past"; "she turned on the light".
7. (genetics) A very large array of tandemly repeating, non-coding DNA.
8. A community or town dependent on a larger town or city nearby.
   • 1949 March and April, F. G. Roe, “I Saw Three Englands–2”, in Railway Magazine, page 82:

     Ahead of us the lowering smoke-screen of Leeds and her gloomy satellites hung like an incubus over the land.

Usage notes

• The man-made telecommunication objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon.

Synonyms

• (artificial orbital body): sat (abbreviation)

Hyponyms

Hyponyms of satellite

• anti-satellite
• femtosatellite
• fixed satellite
• microsatellite
• minisatellite
• nanosatellite
• picosatellite
• quasi-satellite, quasisatellite
• space satellite
• spy satellite

Derived terms

• alphasatellite
• artificial satellite
• betasatellite
• deltasatellite
• direct broadcast satellite
• Dyson-Harrop satellite
• intersatellite
• power satellite
• satellitary
• satellite assembly
• satellite broadcasting
• satellite bus
• satellite campus
• satellite cell
• satellite city
• satellite dish
• satellite DNA
• satellite fly
• satellite-framed
• satellite-framing
• satellite hit
• satellite image
• satellite link
• satellite moth
• satellite navigation
• satellite navigation system
• satellite operation
• satellite party
• satellite phone
• satellite planet
• satellite sphinx
• satellite state
• satellite station
• satellite telephone
• satellite television
• satellite tenant
• satellite town
• satellite TV
• satellite vein
• shepherd satellite
• sub-satellite
• weather satellite

 

Translations

attendant on an important person

• Bulgarian: придружител (bg) m (pridružitel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 随从 (zh) (suícóng), 追随者 (zh) (zhuīsuízhě), 仆从 (zh) (púcóng), 僕從／仆从 (zh) (púcóng), 追隨者／追随者 (zh) (zhuīsuízhě), 隨從／随从 (zh) (suícóng)

• Danish: drabant c
• Finnish: apuri (fi) (neutral); kätyri (fi) (evil or derogatory)
• German: Begleiter (de) m, Gefolgsmann (de) m
• Japanese: 従者 (ja) (じゅうしゃ, jūsha)
• Latin: satellites f
• Turkmen: hemra

a body orbiting a larger one

• Arabic: قَمَر (ar) m (qamar)
• Armenian: արբանյակ (hy) (arbanyak)
• Azerbaijani: süni peyk, peyk (az)
• Basque: satelite
• Belarusian: сатэлі́т m (satelít), спадаро́жнік (be) m (spadaróžnik)
• Bengali: উপগ্রহ (bn) (upogroho)
• Bulgarian: сатели́т (bg) m (satelít), спъ́тник (bg) m (spǎ́tnik)
• Burmese: အရံဂြိုဟ် (a.ramgruih)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 衛星／卫星 (zh) (wèixīng)

• Czech: družice (cs) f
• Danish: satellit c, drabant c
• Finnish: kiertolainen (fi)
• French: satellite (fr) m
• Galician: satélite (gl) m
• Georgian: თანამგზავრი (tanamgzavri)
• German: Trabant (de) m, Begleiter (de) m, Satellit (de) m
• Greek: δορυφόρος (el) m (doryfóros)
• Hindi: उपग्रह (hi) m (upagrah), प्राकृतिक उपग्रह m (prākŕtik upagrah)
• Icelandic: tungl (is) n, fylgihnöttur (is) m, gervitungl (is) n
• Irish: satailít f
• Japanese: 衛星 (ja) (えいせい, eisei)
• Korean: 위성(衛星) (ko) (wiseong)
• Lao: ບໍລິວານ
• Malay: satelit
• Manx: fo-phlannad m, mac-plannad m
• Maori: amiorangi
• Mongolian: дагуул (mn) (daguul)

  Mongolian: ᠳᠠᠭᠠᠭᠤᠯᠢ (daɣaɣuli)

• Persian: قمر (fa) (qamar)
• Polish: satelita (pl) m
• Portuguese: satélite (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਉਪਗ੍ਰਹਿ (pa) m (upagrhi)
• Romanian: satelit (ro) m
• Russian: сателли́т (ru) m (satellít), спу́тник (ru) m (spútnik)
• Slovak: družica f
• Spanish: satélite (es) m
• Swedish: satellit (sv) c
• Thai: บริวาร (th) (bɔɔ-rí-waan)
• Turkish: peyk (tr), uydu (tr)
• Turkmen: hemra
• Ukrainian: сателі́т (uk) m (satelít), супу́тник (uk) m (supútnyk)
• Vietnamese: vệ tinh (vi)
• Welsh: lleuad (cy) (moon)

country, state, office, building etc. under the control of another body

• Armenian: արբանյակ (hy) (arbanyak)
• Bulgarian: сателит (bg) m (satelit)
• Dutch: satellietstaat (nl) m
• Finnish: vasallivaltio (fi) (country); nukkehallitus (fi) (government); sivutoimisto, haarakonttori (office); sivurakennus (fi) (building); sivu- (fi), ala- (fi)
• Greek: δορυφόρος (el) m (doryfóros)
• Japanese: (prefix): 衛星 (ja) (えいせい, eisei), サテライト (ja) (sateraito)
• Korean: 위성(衛星) (ko) (wiseong), (country or government) 괴뢰(傀儡) (ko) (goeroe)
• Russian: сателли́т (ru) m (satellít)

man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body

• Albanian: satelit (sq) m
• Arabic: قَمَر اِصْطِنَاعِيّ m (qamar iṣṭināʕiyy)
• Armenian: արբանյակ (hy) (arbanyak)
• Azerbaijani: peyk (az)
• Basque: satelite
• Belarusian: спадаро́жнік (be) m (spadaróžnik), сатэлі́т m (satelít)
• Bengali: উপগ্রহ (bn) (upogroho)
• Bulgarian: спътник (bg) m (spǎtnik), сатели́т (bg) m (satelít)
• Burmese: ဂြိုဟ်တု (my) (gruihtu.)
• Catalan: satèl·lit (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 衛星／卫星 (zh) (wèixīng), 人造衛星／人造卫星 (zh) (rénzào wèixīng)

• Czech: satelit (cs) m, družice (cs) f
• Danish: satellit c
• Dutch: satelliet (nl) m, kunstmaan (nl) f or m
• Esperanto: satelito
• Estonian: satelliit
• Faroese: fylgisveinur m
• Finnish: satelliitti (fi), tekokuu (fi)
• French: satellite (fr) m
• Galician: satélite (gl) m
• Georgian: ხელოვნური თანამგზავრი (xelovnuri tanamgzavri), სატელიტი (saṭeliṭi)
• German: Satellit (de) m, Orbiter (de) m, umkreisender Raumflugkörper m
• Greek: δορυφόρος (el) m (doryfóros)
• Hebrew: לַויָן (he) m (lav'yan)
• Hindi: उपग्रह (hi) m (upagrah), कृत्रिम उपग्रह (hi) m (kŕtrim upagrah)
• Hungarian: műhold (hu)
• Icelandic: gervitungl (is) n, gervihnöttur (is) m
• Indonesian: satelit (id)
• Irish: satailít f
• Italian: satellite (it) m
• Japanese: 人工衛星 (ja) (じんこうえいせい, jinkō eisei), 衛星 (ja) (えいせい, eisei), サテライト (ja) (sateraito)
• Kazakh: серік (serık)
• Khmer: តារារណប (taaraa rɔnɑɑp)
• Korean: 인공위성(人工衛星) (ko) (in'gong'wiseong)
• Kyrgyz: спутник (ky) (sputnik), сателлит (ky) (satellit)
• Lao: ດາວທຽມ (lo) (dāo thīam)
• Latvian: pavadonis
• Lithuanian: palydovas (lt) m
• Macedonian: сатели́т m (satelít)
• Malay: satelit
• Maori: waka āmiorangi
• Mongolian: хиймэл дагуул (xiimel daguul)

  Mongolian: ᢈᠢᠮᠡᠯ
  ᠳᠠᠭᠠᠭᠤᠯᠢ

• Norman: satellite m (Jersey)
• Norwegian: satelitt
• Persian: ماهواره (fa) (mâhvâre), قمر مصنوعی (qamar-e masnu'i)
• Polish: sztuczny satelita m, satelita (pl) m, sputnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: satélite (pt) m
• Romanian: satelit (ro)
• Russian: спу́тник (ru) m (spútnik), сателли́т (ru) m (satellít)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сателит m

  Roman: satelit (sh) m

• Slovak: umelá družica f, družica f
• Slovene: satelit (sl) m
• Spanish: satélite (es) m
• Swedish: satellit (sv) c
• Tagalog: buntabay, likhang buntabay
• Tajik: моҳвора (tg) (mohvora)
• Thai: ดาวเทียม (th) (daao-tiiam)
• Turkish: uydu (tr), yapay uydu
• Turkmen: hemra
• Ukrainian: супу́тник (uk) m (supútnyk), сателі́т (uk) m (satelít)
• Uyghur: ھەمرا (hemra)
• Uzbek: sputnik, yoʻldosh (uz), satellit (uz)
• Vietnamese: vệ tinh (vi) (衛星), vệ tinh nhân tạo
• Welsh: lloeren (cy)

colloquial: satellite TV

• Bulgarian: сателитна телевизия f (satelitna televizija)
• Finnish: satelliittitelkkari
• Greek: δορυφορική (el) f (doryforikí)
• Japanese: 衛星放送 (えいせいほうそう, eisei hōsō)
• Korean: 위성방송(衛星放送) (wiseongbangsong)
• Turkish: uydu (tr)
• Turkmen: hemra
• Vietnamese: truyền hình vệ tinh

grammatical construct

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 衛星／卫星 (zh) (wèixīng)

• French: satellite (fr) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: (general) ^{(please verify)} fylgihnöttur (is) m, (artificial) ^{(please verify)} gervitungl (is) n, (artificial) ^{(please verify)} gervihnöttur (is) m, (natural) ^{(please verify)} tungl (is) n, (natural) ^{(please verify)} fylgitungl n
• Lao: ^{(please verify)} ດາວທຽມ (lo) (dāo thīam)
• Sindhi: ^{(please verify)} اُپگرهه m
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} ఉప్గ్రహం (upgrahaṁ)

See also

• (moon of Earth) Luna/‎Moon/‎moon ^[edit]
• (moons of Mars) Phobos, Deimos
• (moons of Jupiter) Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Themisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Euporie, Thelxinoe, Euanthe, Helike, Orthosie, Iocaste, Praxidike, Harpalyke, Mneme, Hermippe, Thyone, Ananke, Herse, Aitne, Kale, Taygete, Chaldene, Erinome, Aoede, Kallichore, Kalyke, Carme, Callirrhoe, Eurydome, Pasithee, Kore, Cyllene, Eukelade, Pasiphaë, Hegemone, Arche, Isonoe, Sinope, Sponde, Autonoe, Megaclite
• (moons of Saturn) Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Aegaeon, Mimas, Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Telesto, Calypso, Dione, Helene, Polydeuces, Rhea, Titan, Hyperyon, Iapetus, Kiviuq, Ijiraq, Phoebe, Paaliaq, Skathi, Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Skoll, Siamaq, Tarqeq, Greip, Hyrrokin, Jarnsaxa, Tarvos, Mundilfari, Bergelmir, Narvi, Suttungr, Hati, Farbauti, Thrymr, Aegir, Bestla, Fenrir, Surtur, Kari, Ymir, Loge, Fornjot
• (moons of Uranus) Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda, Perdita, Puck, Mab, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Francisco, Caliban, Stephano, Trinculo, Sycorax, Margaret, Prospero, Setebos, Ferdinand
• (moons of Neptune) Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Triton, Nereid, Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, Psamathe, Neso
• (moons of Pluto) Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, Hydra
• (moons of Haumea) Namaka, Hiʻiaka
• (moons of Eris) Dysnomia

Verb

satellite (third-person singular simple present satellites, present participle satelliting, simple past and past participle satellited)

1. (broadcasting, transitive) To transmit by satellite.
   • 1997, Alvin A. Snyder, Warriors of Disinformation, page 160:

     It had to speed up its efforts to participate in the international satellite television market. In the summer of 1986 it began satelliting TV programs to Africa, and in early 1987, to Asia and twenty countries in Latin America […]

Anagrams

• telestial

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin satellitem (accusative singular of satelles).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sa.tɛ.lit/, /sa.te.lit/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

satellite m (plural satellites)

1. satellite (moon or other celestial body)
2. satellite (man-made apparatus)

Adjective

satellite (plural satellites)

1. (relational) satellite (man-made apparatus)
   • 2013, Jean-Noël Marien, Émilien Dubiez, Dominique Louppe, Adélaïde Larzillière, Quand la ville mange la forêt: les défis du bois-énergie en Afrique centrale, →ISBN, page 45:

     Le couvert végétal du basin d’approvisionnement en bois-énergie de la ville de Kinshasa a été cartographié par images satellites

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• image satellite

Related terms

• satellisation
• satelliser

Further reading

• “satellite”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin satellitem (originally 'attendant').

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saˈtɛl.li.te/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛllite
• Hyphenation: sa‧tèl‧li‧te

Noun

satellite m (plural satelliti)

1. satellite

Adjective

satellite (invariable)

1. (relational) satellite

Related terms

• satellitare
• satellitismo
• satellizzare
• satelloide

 

Further reading

• satellite in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• allestite, stelliate

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /saˈtel.li.te/, [s̠äˈt̪ɛlːʲɪt̪ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /saˈtel.li.te/, [säˈt̪ɛlːit̪e]

Noun

satellite

1. ablative singular of satelles

Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin satellitem, accusative singular of satelles.

Noun

satellite m (plural satellites)

1. (military, Antiquity) a guard or watchman

Descendants

• English: satellite
• French: satellite
• Dutch: satelliet

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (satellite, supplement)

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

satellite f (plural satellites)

1. (Jersey) satellite

Derived terms

• bolle à satellite (“satellite dish”)
• télévîsion dé satellite (“satellite television”)