# Proserpina

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /prəʊˈsɜːpɪnə/

## Definitions
1. The goddess of springtime, queen of the underworld and the wife of Pluto; the Roman equivalent of Persephone.
2. 26 Proserpina, a main-belt asteroid.
3. A fictitious planet beyond Pluto.

## Etymology
From Latin Prōserpina from Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη (Persephónē) by metathesis perhaps first in Magna Graecia via a Sicilian Doric Greek Προσερπίνα (Proserpína) or Ionic Greek Προσερπίνη (Proserpínē), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pers-o- (“sheaf of corn, grain, seed”) and *gʷʰn̥-t- (“to strike”), meaning 'grain-thresher' or 'She-who-threshes-the-grain'.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/proserpina