galaxy
/ˈɡæl.ək.si/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.28 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated stars which appears in the night sky over earth.
Archaic
noun
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
Any print or pattern reminiscent of a galaxy, generally consisting of blending, semiopaque patches of vibrant color on a dark background.
Example Sentences
- "So may thy cheekes red outweare scarlet dye, / And their white, whitenesse of the Galaxie [...]."
- "Grecian imagination ascribed to the galaxy or milky way an origin in the teeming breast of the queen of heaven[.]"
- "[a] galaxy of science fiction stars."
- "Her walls and ceiling were covered with galaxy wallpaper; it was like stepping into space."
- "Her nerdy glasses sat perched on her face, and she wore a May the Force Be With You T-shirt with a black lace skirt, galaxy leggings, and a pair of white Star Wars Vans."
- "She hurriedly said that she found an^([sic]) faded galaxy blanket. She loved galaxy patterned things."
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡæl.ək.si/
- British English: /ˈɡæl.ək.si/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Astronomy.
Inflected Forms
galaxies (plural)
galaxies (present, singular)
galaxying (participle, present)
galaxied (participle, past)
galaxied (past)
the Galaxy (canonical)