uranian

Uranian · adjective, noun¹

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromοὐράνιος
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₁wers-“rain”
3. Ancient Greek · derived fromΟὐρᾰνῐ́ᾱ“muse of astronomy”
4. Latin · derived fromŪrania“muse of astronomy in Greek mythology”
5. English todayUranian

From Latin Ūrania (“muse of astronomy in Greek mythology”) + -an (suffix forming agent nouns). Ūrania is derived from Ancient Greek Οὐρᾰνῐ́ᾱ (Ourănĭ́ā, “muse of astronomy”), from οὐράνιος (ouránios, “of or relating to the sky, celestial, heavenly”) (from οὐρανός (ouranós, “the sky; heaven, home of the gods; the universe”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wers- (“rain”)) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘pertaining to’). The alternative form Ouranian is derived from Ancient Greek οὐράνιος (ouránios). Adjective sense 2 (“homosexual”) and the noun sense (“a homosexual”) refer to Plato’s work Symposium (c. 385–370 B.C.E.), where the goddess Aphrodite, in her heavenly aspect Aphrodite Urania (see adjective sense 3) is described as inspiring a noble form of affection between older and younger men. Compare German Urning (“a homosexual, Uranian”), Urnigtum (“homosexuality”), also referring to Aphrodite Urania, coined by the German writer Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825–1895) in 1864. By the 1900s, the use of the word in this sense had largely been supplanted by homosexual (see further at that entry). The term is no longer mainstream and is almost never used in modern contexts, though it has enjoyed a slight revival as a term for "gay man" as an analogue to lesbian.

Uranian · adjective, noun²

From Uranus + -ian.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1830s Of or pertaining to the planet Uranus.
• from 1830s An inhabitant of the planet Uranus.