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I·ap·e·tus

(ī-ăpĭ-təs, ē-ăp-)

1. Greek Mythology A Titan who was the father of Prometheus and Atlas and an ancestor of the human race.

2. A satellite of Saturn.

[Latin Īapetus, from Greek Īapetos, perhaps meaning “he who is shot forth, hurled away” (with lengthening of the initial i to ī by poets so that the name could fit into dactylic hexameter verse, Iapetus perhaps being so called because he was hurled into Tartarus with Cronus) and from iaptein, to shoot, send forth, of unknown origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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