Planetquake
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A seismic event occurring on a planet (especially one other than Earth).
"But why should Jupiter and Saturn exercise such a particular influence on the earth when they attain these longitudes? M. Delauney answers that when in those longitudes the planets encounter meteor swarms, and just as earthquakes are rather numerous in November, when the earth passes through a meteor stream, so they reach a maximum when either of the planets undergoes the same experience. By strict parity of reasoning, it is planet-quakes that ought to ensue upon these conditions, not earthquakes; but to a bold theorist like M. Delauney that is a trifle."
Example
More examples"But why should Jupiter and Saturn exercise such a particular influence on the earth when they attain these longitudes? M. Delauney answers that when in those longitudes the planets encounter meteor swarms, and just as earthquakes are rather numerous in November, when the earth passes through a meteor stream, so they reach a maximum when either of the planets undergoes the same experience. By strict parity of reasoning, it is planet-quakes that ought to ensue upon these conditions, not earthquakes; but to a bold theorist like M. Delauney that is a trifle."
Etymology
From planet + quake, after the pattern of earthquake.
More for "planetquake"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.