Word Origin & History
satellite
1548, "follower or attendant of a superior person," from M.Fr. satellite (14c.), from L. satellitem (nom. satelles) "attendant," perhaps from Etruscan satnal (Klein), or a compound of roots *satro- "full, enough" + *leit- "to go" (Tucker); cf. Eng. follow, which is constructed of similar roots. Meaning "planet that revolves about a larger one" first attested 1665, in reference to the moons of Jupiter, from L. satellites, which was used in this sense 1611 by Ger. astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). Galileo, who had discovered them, called them Sidera Medicæa in honor of the Medici family. Meaning "man-made machinery orbiting the Earth" first recorded 1936 as theory, 1957 as fact. Meaning "country dependent and subservient to another" is recorded from 1800.