Earth & SkyGreek → English
Zodiac
/ˈzoʊdiæk/noun
The band of sky through which the sun appears to travel, divided into twelve signs.
The Greek roots
ζῴδιον
zṓidion
little animal, small figure
κύκλος
kýklos
circle
Literally: “circle of little animals”
The story of the word
The Greek phrase was ζῳδιακὸς κύκλος, and ζῴδιον is a diminutive of ζῷον: a small carved or painted figure, not necessarily a beast. Eleven of the twelve signs are living things. Libra, the scales, is the exception, and older Greek astronomers did not have it at all, treating that stretch of sky as the claws of the Scorpion.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 14th century
Same family
zoologyprotozoancycleazoic
In a sentence
The cathedral floor has the whole zodiac laid out in inlaid stone.