Phaëthon

noun

Pha·​ë·​thon ˈfā-ə-tən How to pronounce Phaëthon (audio)
-ˌthän
: a son of Helios who drives his father's sun-chariot through the sky but loses control and is struck down by a thunderbolt of Zeus

Examples of Phaëthon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web While most meteor showers originate from comets, which are made of ice and dust, the Geminids come from a rocky asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Jan. 2024 The Geminids come from leftover debris from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon, which takes 524 days to circle the sun. Denise Chow, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2023 In the case of the Geminids, those particles are disintegrating pieces of the 3200 Phaethon asteroid, which travels at a super fast speed of 79,000 mph (22 miles per second), according to NASA. Brian Bushard, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 Shooting star-like debris from the 3200 Phaethon asteroid, a 3.17-mile wide space rock orbiting the Earth at a distance of more than 6.4 million miles, is expected to be at its peak on Wednesday night, according to NASA. Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 11 Dec. 2023 But instead, the Geminids result from the Earth passing through material that has broken off from an oddball asteroid named 3200 Phaethon. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023 Most meteor showers originate from comets, but the Geminids come from 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid. Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2023 The name of the path is slightly ill-omened, since Zeus killed Phaethon with a thunderbolt after the boy failed to control a chariot belonging to his father, Helios, the sun god. Charlotte Higgins, Travel + Leisure, 9 Oct. 2023 So Phaethon took the reins at dawn; rose; and of course fell, literally dying to learn that his father’s name was his own. Wyatt Mason, New York Times, 27 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Phaëthon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek Phaethōn

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Phaëthon was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near Phaëthon

Cite this Entry

“Phaëthon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Pha%C3%ABthon. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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