Iapetus

Alternative forms

• Japetus

Etymology

Ancient Greek Ἰαπετός (Iapetós).

• (moon): Named after the titan
• (ocean): The Iapetus Ocean, predecessor to the Atlantic Ocean, so this name was chosen as Iapetus is the father of Atlas (re: Atlantic)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪˈæpɪtəs/^[1]

Proper noun

Iapetus

1. (Greek mythology) A Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia, and father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius.
2. (astronomy) The third largest moon of Saturn
3. (geology) An ancient ocean which existed between 600 and 400 million years ago.
   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society 2011, p. 184:

     So, in the early Ordovician, Iapetus was wide enough to have one side in high latitudes and the other in the tropics: a massive ocean, indeed.

Anagrams

• Paiutes, taupies