'Satellite' is Latin for 'bodyguard' — Kepler called Jupiter's moons 'attendants' in 1611.
A celestial body orbiting a planet, or an artificial object placed in orbit around the earth or another body in space.
From Latin 'satelles' (genitive 'satellitis'), meaning 'attendant,' 'bodyguard,' or 'armed escort' — originally a member of a powerful person's retinue. The word is likely of Etruscan origin, as the '-ell-' suffix and lack of a clear Indo-European etymology suggest a pre-Latin borrowing. In Republican Rome, 'satellites' had a decidedly negative connotation: it implied hired thugs or sycophants who surrounded a tyrant. Johannes Kepler first applied the word astronomically in 1611, calling Jupiter's newly discovered
Kepler chose the word 'satellite' in 1611 because Jupiter's moons reminded him of servants attending a king. The political metaphor stuck: during the Cold War, 'satellite state' described countries orbiting the Soviet Union's power, and today 'satellite office' means a smaller outpost revolving around a headquarters.