Perseid

[ pur-see-id ]

noun

, Astronomy.

1. any of a shower of meteors appearing in August and radiating from a point in the constellation Perseus.

Perseid

/ ˈpɜːsɪɪd /

noun

1. any member of a meteor shower occurring annually around August 12th and appearing to radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus

Word History and Origins

Origin of Perseid¹

First recorded in 1870–75; Perseus ( def ) + -id ¹( def ); modeled on Italian Perseidi (plural), a term coined or used by Giovanni Schiaparelli ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of Perseid¹

C19: from Greek Persēides daughters of Perseus ¹

Example Sentences

The Perseid meteors sometimes fall at the rate of about sixty per hour.

From Project Gutenberg

For this reason, Leverrier pronounced, in 1867, the Perseid to be of older formation than the Leonid system.

From Project Gutenberg

A dawdling August Perseid scratched a thin mark of light across the blackness.

From Project Gutenberg

Secondly, that it was a new power which he erected, and that he was not merely the transferee of the power of the Perseid line.

From Project Gutenberg