minor planets

1 definition found

minor planets - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Asteroid \As"ter*oid\, n. [Gr. ? starlike, starry; 'asth`r star
     + e'i^dos form: cf. F. ast['e]ro["i]de. See Aster.]
     A starlike body; esp. one of the numerous small planets whose
     orbits lie between those of Mars and Jupiter; -- called also
     planetoids and minor planets.
     [1913 Webster]