Iapetus
Americannoun
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Classical Mythology. a Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia.
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Astronomy. a natural satellite of the planet Saturn.
noun
Etymology
Origin of Iapetus
First recorded in 1600–20; Latin Īapetus, from Greek Īapetós; further origin uncertain; probably from the same source as Hebrew Yepheth; see origin at Japheth ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The team also found that before it disappeared, Proto-Hyperion could have tilted the orbit of Saturn's distant moon Iapetus, potentially solving another longstanding mystery about the Saturn system.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026
In the book you mention that you like Saturn’s moon Iapetus because of its different hemispheres and describe how that idea of polarity is compelling to you.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 24, 2023
In simulations, the researchers included an object about the size of Iapetus, Saturn’s third largest moon, orbiting about 43 Saturn radii out—between the orbits of Titan and Iapetus.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 14, 2022
Our favorites include Uranus’ Miranda, with its jigsaw puzzle surface; Saturn’s Mimas, with a “knockout” crater called Herschel; and Saturn’s Iapetus, whose two hemispheres differ significantly.
From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016
He wondered what had happened to Iapetus after they’d left him in Hades’s palace...if he was still content being Bob, friendly, happy, and clueless.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
