Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Asteroid \As"ter*oid\, n. [Gr. ? starlike, starry; 'asth`r star
   + ? form: cf. F. ast['e]ro["i]de. See {Aster}.]
   A starlike body; esp. one of the numerous small planets whose
   orbits lie between those of Mars and Jupiter; -- called also
   {planetoids} and {minor planets}.