galaxy
noun
Newsweek
Did you know?
The system of stars that includes our sun looks, in the night sky, like a broad band of light. We call this band the Milky Way. The idea of the whiteness of the Milky Way being similar to that of milk is much older than the English language, however. Galaxias, the Greek word for the Milky Way, was derived from the Greek gala, “milk.” English galaxy, derived from Greek galaxias, was not used until the 19th century as a generic term for other star systems as well as the one in which we live.
Examples of galaxy in a Sentence
Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Pía will also take you along on an fascinating journey through the galaxy by identifying constellations and explaining the significance of the cosmos to the local Indigenous people.
—Sandra MacGregor, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Scientists are hoping to study the nova to discover what happens when the material is blasted from the white dwarf and distributed into neighboring galaxies, Boyd said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2024
To find an answer, the team looked to Gaia, the satellite that has been tracking the motions of all the stars in the galaxy for a decade.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near galaxy
Cite this Entry
“Galaxy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galaxy. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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galaxy
noun
Middle English galaxie "the Milky Way," from Latin galaxias (same meaning), from Greek galaxias "Milky Way," from galakt-, gala "milk"
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