Hygiea
/haɪˈdʒiːə/noun
Hygiea is the Greek goddess of health, cleanliness, and disease prevention, and the name of a large asteroid.
Did you know?Hygiea was one of the daughters of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, and her name became the source of the English words hygiene and hygienic.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Ὑγίεια (Hygieia)
“Health; the goddess personifying health and cleanliness”
Classical Greek
Greek
ὑγιής (hugiēs)
“Healthy, sound, or uninjured; the adjective associated with Hygieia”
Ancient Latin
Latin
Hygia
“Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health”
16th Century
English
hygiene
“The practice of maintaining health and cleanliness, borrowed through French from Greek”
1849
Astronomy
10 Hygiea
“An asteroid named after the Greek goddess of health”
Modern English
English
Hygiea
“The goddess, the asteroid, or a scientific name derived from them”