Meanings
nounprotoplanet (plural protoplanets)
plural protoplanets
- An astronomical object, approximately the size of the Moon, formed from the mutual gravitational attraction of planetesimals; they are thought to collide with each other and slowly form planets
Tyrix, one of the largest objects in Thal's asteroid belt, is a metallic asteroid with an iron-nickel core under a rocky olivine mantle. It is possibly a remnant protoplanet prevented from forming into anything bigger by gravitational disturbances from Xerceo.
2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tyrix
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
- Proto-Indo-European*pér
- Proto-Indo-European*pró
- Ancient Greekπρό (pró)
- Ancient Greekπρῶτος (prôtos)
- Ancient Greekπρωτο- (prōto-)
- Englishproto-
- Englishplanet
- Englishprotoplanet
Translations
Catalan protoplaneta
- protoplanetaastronomical object
Chinese Mandarin 原行星
- 原行星 (yuánxíngxīng)astronomical object
Czech protoplaneta
- protoplanetaastronomical object
Finnish protoplaneetta
- protoplaneettaastronomical object
French protoplanète
- protoplanèteastronomical object
German Protoplanet
- Protoplanetastronomical object
Hindi आदिग्रह
- आदिग्रह (ādigrah)astronomical object
Irish prótapláinéad
- prótapláinéadastronomical object
Italian protopianeta
- protopianetaastronomical object
Japanese 原始惑星
- 原始惑星astronomical object
Lithuanian proplaneta
- proplanetaastronomical object
Norwegian protoplanet
- protoplanetastronomical object
Polish protoplaneta
- protoplanetaastronomical object
Portuguese protoplaneta
- protoplanetaastronomical object
Romanian protoplanetă
- protoplanetăastronomical object
Russian протоплане́та
- протоплане́та (protoplanéta)astronomical object
Slovak protoplanéta
- protoplanétaastronomical object
Spanish protoplaneta
- protoplanetaastronomical object
Swedish protoplanet
- protoplanetastronomical object
Cite this entry
APA
protoplanet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoplanet
MLA
“protoplanet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoplanet. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “protoplanet,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoplanet.
Source: protoplanet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.