galaxy
noun
Newsweek
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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
Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
The band is no retro revival act, though, and galaxies away from any tired retread.
—Kim Kelly, SPIN, 18 June 2024
The only explanation was a large quantity of unseen matter, binding the galaxy together.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN, 17 June 2024
Right now, River, there is a spacecraft also named Psyche in the sky, and just the other day NASA fired up the solar-and xenon-powered propulsion system that will send this American invention the size of a tennis court across the galaxy at up to 124,000 miles per hour!
—Bill Weir, TIME, 12 June 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Galaxy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galaxy. Accessed 27 Jun. 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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