Ceres

noun

Ce·​res ˈsir-(ˌ)ēz How to pronounce Ceres (audio)
1
: the Roman goddess of agriculture compare demeter
2
: a dwarf planet that orbits within the asteroid belt with a mean distance from the sun of 2.7 astronomical units (260 million miles) and a diameter of 590 miles (950 kilometers)

Word History

Etymology

Latin Cerer-, Cerēs, probably personified noun derivative going back to an Indo-European adjective *ḱerh3-ḗs "of grain," derivative of *ḱérh3-o/es "nourishment, grain," derivative of a verbal base *ḱerh3- "feed, fill, satisfy," whence also Greek koréō "(I) will satiate, fill," Lithuanian šeriù, šérti "to feed," Germanic *hersija- "of grain" (whence Old Saxon hirsi "millet," Old High German hirso, hirsi)

Note: Latin crēscere "to increase" and creāre "to beget, bring into being" are most likely unrelated—see crescent entry 1.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Ceres was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near Ceres

cereous

Ceres

cereus

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Ceres.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ceres. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Geographical Definition

Ceres

geographical name

Ce·​res ˈsir-(ˌ)ēz How to pronounce Ceres (audio)
city in central California southeast of Modesto population 45,417

More from Merriam-Webster on Ceres

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Ceres

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
turkey-looking-at-camera
Giving Thanks Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...