moonlet

English

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-?

Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s

Proto-Germanic *mēnô

Proto-West Germanic *mānō

Old English mōna

Middle English mone

English moon

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-elós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Latin -ulus

Latin -ellus

Old French -el

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-tosder.?

Late Latin -ittus

Old French -et

Old French -eletbor.

Middle English -let

English -let

English moonlet

From moon + -let.

moonlet (plural moonlets)

(astronomy) a very small body orbiting a planet, often as part of a planetary ring system.
- 1981, Nature‎^[1]:
  "A moonlet within the ring system will exert a systematic torque on ring material."