'planet' and 'planasthai'

[Nathan Bierma]

This is just etymological trivia, but does the Greek root of "planet" --
"planasthai," to wander -- suggest that ancient astronomers didn't know that
planets moved in patterns? Or just that their position in the sky shifted while
the stars remained (apparently) fixed?


Nathan Bierma
"On Language"
Chicago Tribune
www.nbierma.com/language

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