bolide

English

An especially bright meteor, a bolide (in astronomy)

Etymology

Borrowed from French bolide, from Latin bolis, from Ancient Greek βολίς (bolís, “missile, arrow, javelin”).

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈboʊ.laɪd/, /ˈboʊ.lɪd/

Noun

bolide (plural bolides)

  1. An extremely bright meteor
  2. Any extraterrestrial body that collides with Earth
  3. A fireball

Quotations

The smallest impactor that can penetrate the atmosphere deep enough to cause any damage on the ground is not much smaller than the "Tunguska" bolide that flattened a couple thousand square miles of Siberian forest in 1908.
—Alan Harris

Derived terms

Translations

any extraterrestrial body that collides with earth
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Anagrams

French

Etymology

From Latin bolis.

Noun

bolide m (plural bolides)

  1. fast racing car; speedster, high-powered car
  2. (astronomy) fireball

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

From Latin bolis, from Ancient Greek βολίς (bolís, “missile, arrow, javelin”).

Noun

bolide m (plural bolidi)

  1. meteor
  2. racing car

Anagrams

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