galaxy
/ˈɡæl.ək.si/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms galaxies galaxying galaxied the Galaxy
- noun (now rare) The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated stars which appears in the night sky over earth.
- noun (astronomy) Any of the collections of many millions or billions of stars, galactic dust, black holes, etc. existing as independent and coherent systems, of which there are billions in the known universe.
- noun (figuratively) An assemblage of things or people seen as luminous or brilliant.
- noun (fashion, design) Any print or pattern reminiscent of a galaxy, generally consisting of blending, semiopaque patches of vibrant color on a dark background.
- verb (transitive) To furnish with galaxies.
- verb (archaic, transitive) To gather together into a luminous whole.
- proper noun (astronomy, dated, now proscribed) Synonym of Milky Way Galaxy (“our galaxy”).
Synonyms
G star city trichiliocosm island universe Milky Way Galaxy galax wandflower beetleweed coltsfoot Galax urceolata extragalactic nebula
Etymology
From Middle English galaxye, galaxie, from Old French galaxie, from Latin galaxias, from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxías, “Milky Way”), shortening of γαλαξίας κύκλος (galaxías kúklos, “milky circle”), from γάλα (gála, “milk”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The Milky Way; that luminous tract, or belt, which is seen at night stretching across the heavens, and which is composed of innumerable stars, so distant and blended as to be distinguishable only with the telescope. The term has recently been used for remote clusters of stars. Nichol.
- noun A splendid assemblage of persons or things.
Etymology [F. galaxie, L. galaxias, fr. Gr. lac. CF. Lacteal.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “galaxy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details