margaret
n. countablen. one of the many moons that circles the planet Uranus. It is very small and dark, and it was named after a character from a play by William Shakespeare.
n. a small, irregular natural satellite of the planet Uranus, discovered in 2003. It is notable for its highly eccentric and prograde orbit, which is unique among the irregular moons of the planet.
Astronomers use powerful telescopes to study Margaret and other moons.
Among the irregular satellites of Uranus, Margaret stands out because its orbit is unusually oval-shaped compared to its neighbors.
The discovery of Margaret provided planetary scientists with new data regarding the gravitational capture of irregular satellites during the early formation of the outer solar system.
From the name of a legendary third century saint, from Middle English Margaret, from Old French Margaret (French Marguerite), from Latin Margarita, from Ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs, “pearl”), ultimately from an Indo-Iranian source. The same source, through folk etymology, has produced Old English meregrot (“pearl”, literally “stone or pebble of the sea”), related to Old Saxon merigrita, merigriota (“pearl”), Old High German merigrioz, equivalent to mer- + groat.
As a proper noun in an astronomical context, it is always capitalized.