WikiWord

English

Proserpina

/prəʊˈsɜːpɪnə/ · name

Meaning

  1. The goddess of springtime, queen of the underworld and the wife of Pluto; the Roman equivalent of Persephone.
  2. 26 Proserpina, a main-belt asteroid.
  3. A fictitious planet beyond Pluto.

Etymology / origin

From Latin Prōserpina from Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη (Persephónē) by metathesis perhaps first in Magna Graecia via a Sicilian Doric Greek Προσερπίνα (Proserpína) or Ionic Greek Προσερπίνη (Proserpínē), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pers-o- (“sheaf of corn, grain, seed”) and *gʷʰn̥-t- (“to strike”), meaning 'grain-thresher' or 'She-who-threshes-the-grain'.

Sources

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