Meaning of the word sun

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Throughout human history, the sun’s powerful energy has long assured its role as the undisputed “star” of our solar system.

The ancient Greeks personified the sun as a handsome god named Helios. His astronomical pedigree was impeccable: He was the son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia. Helios was also the brother of Selene, the goddess of the Moon, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn.

Said to be crowned with a radiant burst of sunbeams, Helios daily drove his chariot of the sun, drawn by what the ancient Greek poet Pindar called “fire-breathing horses,” across the sky. Along the way, he delivered sunshine around the world. Helios repeated his appointed rounds each morning after his sister Eos announced the new dawn.

With the passage of time, Helios became associated with Apollo, the god of light, but most ancient Greeks believed them to be separate gods, mainly because Helios was a Titan and Apollo, a member of the higher order of gods known as Olympians.

During their empiric reign, the Romans continued to worship several sun gods, but they replaced the Greek word for sun, Helios, with the Latin Sol, a root word that continues to refer to the sun in the present day, such as in the term “solar system.” The most powerful sun god in ancient Rome was Sol Invictus, meaning “Unconquered Sun.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word sun comes from many sources, including the Latin sol. The Old English sunne likely derives from the old Germanic sunne; both attached a feminine gender to the “heavenly body.” There exist several variants of the word in other languages, such as zon or zonne (Dutch), sunna (Old High German, Gothic, and Old Norse), and sonne and son (Middle German). An Old Irish cognate is fur-sunnud, or “lighting-up.”

Conforming to usage of the Old English sunne, the feminine pronoun continued to be applied to the sun until around the 16th century. At this point, the masculine pronoun was more commonly used but “without necessarily implying personification,” and without any hard or fast rules. (The moon, on the other hand, was typically referred to with the feminine pronoun during this period.)

Shakespeare notes in his play The Comedy of Errors (written between 1589 and 1594, but first published in 1623): “When the sunne shines, let foolish gnats make sport, but crepe in crannies when he hides his beames.” (II, ii, 30). Moreover, several English Christian devotional poets, such as George Herbert, enjoyed making puns with the word sun and the “son of God,” thus further emphasizing a masculine beam to solar literary references. During the mid- to late-1600s, the now more familiar spelling of the word, sun, came into popular use.

[How can we better engineer coastlines to protect communities from future flooding?]

Words aside, scientists long debated the astronomical relationship between the sun and the Earth. During the 4th century, B.C., Plato and Aristotle espoused a theory called geocentrism, which proposed that the sun revolved around the Earth. The Aristotelian or geocentric model was further elaborated by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century, A.D. These “proto-scientists” were so revered that their ideas drowned out the far less influential Aristarchus of Samos, of the 3rd century B.C., who was probably the first to propose a heliocentric theory, wherein the Earth revolves around the sun. Plato, Aristotle, and Ptolemy’s geocentric theory prevailed for more than a millennium.

For our modern understanding of how the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun, we must thank the Renaissance astronomer and Catholic cleric Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), who first proposed a predictive mathematical model now known as heliocentrism, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), who furthered the theory by predicting elliptical orbits of the planets, and, of course, the essential telescopic observations of Galileo Galilei (1564 -1642). Solar studies have been rising, no pun intended, by leaps and bounds ever since.

Regardless of how we understand it or even what we call our star, every morning (at least for the foreseeable future), we can rejoice in saying, as the late and multi-talented musician George Harrison eloquently wrote, “here comes the sun”!

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Meet the Writer

About Howard Markel

Howard Markel, M.D., Ph.D. is a professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, he is editor-in-chief of the Milbank Quarterly and a Guggenheim fellow.

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/sʌn/ the star around which the earth moves and that provides light and heat for the earth: The sun is the center of our solar system. Sun also means the light or heat that the earth receives from this star: Sit in the sun where it’s a lot warmer.

Where does the word sun come from?

The word sun comes from the Old English word sunne, which itself comes from the older Proto-Germanic language’s word sunnōn. In ancient times the Sun was widely seen as a god, and the name for Sun was the name of that god.

When was the word Sun invented?

1450

What is the Latin root for Sun?

Sol

What is the Greek name for Sun?

Helios

Is Solar Greek or Latin?

solar (adj.) mid-15c., “pertaining to the sun,” from Latin solaris “of the sun,” from sol “sun” (from PIE root *sawel- “the sun”). Meaning “living room on an upper story” is from Old English, from Latin solarium (see solarium). Old English had sunlic “solar.”

Who invented sun?

Aristarchus of Samos (Samos is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea) lived from about 310 to 230 BC, about 2250 years ago. He measured the size and distance of the Sun and, though his observations were inaccurate, found that the Sun is much larger than the Earth.

Will the sun last forever if not why?

The hydrogen fuel at the core will finally be exhausted in five billion years when the Sun will be 67% more luminous than at present. Thereafter the Sun will continue to burn hydrogen in a shell surrounding its core until the luminosity reaches 121% above the present value.

Will the sun last forever?

For about a billion years, the sun will burn as a red giant. Astronomers estimate that the sun has about 7 billion to 8 billion years left before it sputters out and dies. Humanity may be long gone by then, or perhaps we’ll have already colonized another planet.

What year will the Sun die?

In about 5.5 billion years the Sun will run out of hydrogen and begin expanding as it burns helium. It will swap from being a yellow giant to a red giant, expanding beyond the orbit of Mars and vaporizing Earth—including the atoms that make-up you.

Is Jupiter a failed star?

“Jupiter is called a failed star because it is made of the same elements (hydrogen and helium) as is the Sun, but it is not massive enough to have the internal pressure and temperature necessary to cause hydrogen to fuse to helium, the energy source that powers the sun and most other stars.

How long would humans survive without the sun?

A relatively simple calculation would show that the Earth’s surface temperature would drop by a factor of two about every two months if the Sun were shut off. The current mean temperature of the Earth’s surface is about 300 Kelvin (K). This means in two months the temperature would drop to 150K, and 75K in four months.

Can humans live on the sun?

But if you take a look around, there’s nothing here for you to actually land on, because the sun doesn’t have any solid surface to speak of. It’s just a giant ball of hydrogen and helium gas. So instead of landing on the photosphere, you’re going to sink into it.

What would happen if the sun disappeared for 1 second?

On a larger scale, the removal of the sun would also remove its protective magnetic field from around our solar system. By removing the heliosheath for a second, we’d be allowing all of this radiation into our solar system.

What would happen if the sun never set?

With no sunlight, photosynthesis would stop, but that would only kill some of the plants—there are some larger trees that can survive for decades without it. Within a few days, however, the temperatures would begin to drop, and any humans left on the planet’s surface would die soon after.

What if the sun never rose?

Without the Sun’s rays, all photosynthesis on Earth would stop. All plants would die and, eventually, all animals that rely on plants for food — including humans — would die, too.

Is there a country where the sun never sets?

Svalbard is the place in Norway where the midnight sun occurs for the longest period. Here, the sun doesn’t set between 20 April and 22 August.

Is the sun the closest star to Earth?

The simple answer is that the Sun is the closest star to Earth, about 93 million miles away. But that might not answer your question. Outside of our Sun, our system’s nearest neighbor is Alpha Centauri. This isn’t a single star, it’s actually a triple-star system — three stars bound together by gravity.

What are the 13 planets in our solar system?

Planets in Our Solar System

• Mercury. Mercury—the smallest planet in our solar system and closest to the Sun—is only slightly larger than Earth’s Moon.
• Venus. Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction from most planets.
• Earth.
• Mars.
• Jupiter.
• Saturn.
• Uranus.
• Neptune.

What’s the closest star to the sun?

Of the three stars in the system, the dimmest – called Proxima Centauri – is actually the nearest star to the Sun. The two bright stars, called Alpha Centauri A and B form a close binary system; they are separated by only 23 times the Earth – Sun distance.

Why do you not see stars in space?

The stars aren’t visible because they are too faint. The astronauts in their white spacesuits appear quite bright, so they must use short shutter speeds and large f/stops to not overexpose the pictures.

Can u get pregnant in space?

As a result NASA’s official policy forbids pregnancy in space. Female astronauts are tested regularly in the 10 days prior to launch. And sex in space is very much frowned upon. So far the have been no confirmed instances of coitus, though lots of speculation.

Do female astronauts wear bras in space?

According to this Salon article[1], yes they do. They don’t need the support, but the bra keeps their wobbly bits in place while floating around in microgravity. They also like having an extra layer between said bits and the cameras all over the space station.

Can astronauts fart in space?

When astronauts are not in the space suit and floating about, the fart smell is exaggerated by the lack of airflow from the recycled air used and its inability to mask any smell. As per your second question on the ability to thrust about in space from a fart, this is very near impossible.

Who was the first person to fart in the world?

Le Pétomane
Born	Joseph PujolJune 1, 1857 Marseille, France
Died	August 8, 1945 (aged 88)

What does space smell like?

Astronaut Thomas Jones said it “carries a distinct odor of ozone, a faint acrid smell…a little like gunpowder, sulfurous.” Tony Antonelli, another space-walker, said space “definitely has a smell that’s different than anything else.” A gentleman named Don Pettit was a bit more verbose on the topic: “Each time, when I …

What happens if you fart in someone’s mouth?

And with nowhere else to go, it could eventually escape through the mouth. “Trying to hold it in leads to a buildup of pressure and major discomfort.”A build up of intestinal gas can trigger abdominal distension, with some gas reabsorbed into the circulation and exhaled in your breath.

Can holding in a fart kill you?

Can you die from holding in a fart? There is no evidence that holding in a fart could kill you, though the pain and discomfort doing so causes can be severe.

What is it called when you fart in a girls mouth?

Passing gas through the mouth is called belching or burping. Foods that produce gas in one person may not cause gas in another.

Why do we fart before we poop?

A buildup of gas-producing foods and swallowed air during the day may make you more flatulent in the evening. Also, you’re more likely to fart when the muscles in the intestines are stimulated. When you’re about to have a bowel movement, for example, those muscles are moving stool to the rectum.

• Abkhaz: Амра (Amra)
• Afrikaans: Son
• Akkadian: 𒌓 m (šamšu)
• Albanian: Dielli m (definite), diell (sq) m
• Amharic: ፀሐይ (ṣ́äḥäy)
• Arabic: اَلشَّمْس‎ f (aš-šams) (definite), شَمْس‎ (ar) f (šams)
• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܸܡܫܵܐ‎ (šimša)

  Classical Syriac: ܫܡܫܐ‎ c (/šemšā/)

• Armenian: Արեգակ (hy) (Aregak)
• Asturian: sol (ast) m, Sol (ast) m
• Avar: Бакъ (Baqxʼ)
• Azerbaijani: Günəş (az)
• Bashkir: Ҡояш (Qoyaş), ҡояш (qoyaş)
• Belarusian: Со́нца n (Sónca)
• Bengali: সূর্য (bn) (śurjo)
• Breton: Heol m
• Bulgarian: Слъ́нце n (Slǎ́nce)
• Burmese: နေ (my) (ne)
• Catalan: Sol (ca) m
• Chechen: Малх (Malx)
• Cherokee: ᏅᏓᎡᎨᎯ (nvdaegehi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 太陽／太阳 (taai³ joeng⁴)

  Dungan: Жәту (Řətu), Әрту (Ərtu), Тэён (Tei͡on), Эрту (Ertu) (Shaanxi)

  Hakka: 日頭／日头 (ngit-thèu)

  Mandarin: 太陽／太阳 (zh) (tàiyáng)

  Min Nan: 日頭／日头 (zh-min-nan) (ji̍t-thâu, li̍t-thâu), 太陽／太阳 (zh-min-nan) (thài-iâng)

• Chukchi: Тиркытир (Tirkytir)
• Chuvash: Хӗвел (Hĕvel)
• Czech: Slunce (cs) n
• Danish: Solen (da)
• Dhivehi: އިރު‎ (dv) (iru)
• Dolgan: Күн (Kün)
• Dutch: zon (nl) f, (astronomy) Zon (nl) f
• Erzya: Чи (Či)
• Esperanto: suno (eo)
• Estonian: päike (et), Päike
• Even: Нӫ̄лтэн (Ņȫltən)
• Evenki: Дылача̄ (Dilaçā), Сигӯн (Sigūn) (dialectal)
• Faroese: Sólin
• Finnish: Aurinko (fi)
• French: Soleil (fr) m
• Galician: sol (gl) m
• Gamilaraay: yaraay
• Georgian: მზე (ka) (mze)
• German: Sonne (de) f
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 f (sunnō), 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌹𐌻 n (sauil)
• Greek: Ήλιος (el) m (Ílios)

  Ancient: ἀγαθό δαίμων m (agathó daímōn), Φᾰέθων m (Phaéthōn)

• Gujarati: સૂર્ય (gu) (sūrya)
• Hebrew: שֶׁמֶשׁ‎ (he) f (shémesh), חַמָּה‎ (he) f (khamá)
• Hindi: सूर्य (hi) m (sūrya), ख़्वुरशेद m (xvurśed), सूरज (hi) m (sūraj), शम्स (hi) m (śams), खुरशीद (hi) m (khurśīd), रवि (hi) m (ravi), दिनकर (hi) m (dinkar), भानु (hi) m (bhānu), आदित्य (hi) m (āditya)
• Hittite: 𒀭𒌓𒇷𒄿𒀀 (^DUTU-li-ya)
• Hungarian: nap (hu), Nap (hu)
• Icelandic: sól (is), Sól (is) f
• Ido: suno (io)
• Indonesian: Matahari (id), matahari (id)

  Sundanese: panonpoe

• Ingush: Малх (Malx)
• Irish: Grian, An Ghrian
• Italian: sole (it) m
• Japanese: 太陽 (ja) (たいよう, taiyō)
• Kalmyk: Нарн (Narn)
• Kannada: ಸೂರ್ಯ (kn) (sūrya), ನೇಸರು (kn) (nēsaru), ರವಿ (kn) (ravi)
• Kapampangan: Aldo
• Karelian: Päiväine, Päivy
• Kashubian: Słuńce n
• Kazakh: Күн (kk) (Kün)
• Khakas: Кӱн (Kün)
• Khmer: ព្រះអាទិត្យ (km) (prĕəh ʼaatɨt)
• Komi-Zyrian: Шонді (Šondi)
• Korean: 해 (ko) (hae), 일 (ko) (il), 태양(太陽) (ko) (taeyang)
• Kyrgyz: Күн (Kün)
• Lakota: apawi
• Lao: ຕາເວັນ (lo) (tā wen)
• Latvian: Saule
• Laz: მჟორა (mjora)
• Lezgi: Рагъ (Raġ)
• Lithuanian: saulė (lt) f
• Low German:

  German Low German: Sünn (nds) f

• Lü: ᦎᦱᦞᧃ (ṫaavan)
• Macedonian: Сонце n (Sonce)
• Malay: Matahari (ms), matahari (ms)
• Malayalam: ഞായർ (ml) (ñāyaṟ), സൂര്യൻ (ml) (sūryaṉ)
• Maltese: Xemx m, xemx (mt) m
• Manchu: ᡧᡠᠨ (šun)
• Marathi: सूर्य m (sūrya), आदित्य (mr) m (āditya), दिनकर (mr) (dinkar), मित्र (mr) (mitra), रवी (mr) (ravī)
• Mingrelian: ბჟა (bža)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: Нар (mn) (Nar)

  Mongolian: ᠨᠠᠷᠠ (nara)

• Nandi: asis
• Navajo: jóhonaaʼéí
• Nepali: सूर्य (sūrya)
• Ngarrindjeri: Nungge
• Northern East Cree: ᒌᔑᑳᓂᐲᓯᒻ (ciishikaanipiisim), ᐲᓯᒻ (piisim)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: Sol m or f, Solen m or f (definite)

  Nynorsk: Sol f, Sola f (definite)

• Ojibwe: giizis
• Old English: Sunne
• Old Occitan: sol, solelh m
• Ossetian: Хур (Xur)
• Pashto: لمر‎ (ps) m (lmër), نور‎ (ps) m (nwër), نمر‎ (ps) m (nmër)
• Persian: خورشید‎ (fa) (xoršid)
• Polish: słońce (pl) n
• Portuguese: Sol (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਸੂਰਜ (pa) (sūraj)
• Purepecha: jurhiata, jurhíata
• Romanian: soare (ro) m
• Russian: Со́лнце (ru) n (Sólnce)
• Rusyn: Со́нце n (Sónce)
• Sanskrit: रवि (sa) (ravi), सूर्य (sa) (sūrya), दिनकर (sa) (dinakara)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Су̑нце n

  Roman: Sȗnce (sh) n

• Shor: Кӱн (Kün)
• Sichuan Yi: ꉘꁮ (hxo bbu)
• Silesian: Słůńce n
• Sinhalese: හිරු (si) (hiru), ඉර (si) (ira)
• Slovak: Slnko n
• Slovene: sonce (sl) n, Sonce (sl) n
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: Słyńco n

  Upper Sorbian: Słónco n

• Southern Altai: Кӱн (Kün)
• Spanish: sol (es) m, Sol (es) m
• Sumerian: 𒌓 (ud)
• Svan: მიჟ (miž)
• Swahili: Jua
• Swedish: solen (sv) c
• Tagalog: Araw, Adlaw
• Tajik: Офтоб (tg) (Oftob), Хуршед (Xuršed), офтоб (tg) (oftob)
• Tamil: ஞாயிறு (ta) (ñāyiṟu), சூரியன் (ta) (cūriyaṉ)
• Tatar: Кояш (tt) (Qoyaş), кояш (tt) (qoyaş)
• Telugu: సూర్యుడు (te) (sūryuḍu), నెసరు (te) (nesaru), పొద్దు (te) (poddu)
• Thai: ดวงอาทิตย์ (th) (duuang-aa-tít)
• Tibetan: ཉི་མ (nyi ma)
• Tofa: Һүн (Hün), Күн (Kün)
• Turkish: Güneş (tr)
• Turkmen: Güneş, Gün
• Tuvan: Хүн (Xün)
• Tzotzil: kʼakʼal
• Ukrainian: Со́нце (uk) n (Sónce)
• Urdu: سوریہ‎ m (sūrya), خورشید‎ m (xuršed), سورج‎ (ur) m (sūraj)
• Uyghur: قۇياش‎ (ug) (quyash), كۈن‎ (ug) (kün)
• Uzbek: Quyosh, Oftob
• Veps: Päiväine
• Vietnamese: Mặt Trời (vi), Thái Dương (vi) (太陽 (vi))
• Volapük: sol (vo)
• Welsh: Haul (cy)
• Written Oirat: ᠨᠠᠷᠠᠨ (naran)
• Yakut: Күн (Kün)
• Yiddish: זון‎ f (zun), החמה‎ f (hakhome)
• Zhuang: da’ngoenz, gyangngoenz, gyangjngoenz, havaenz