galaxy means synonym of Milky Way Galaxy (“our galaxy”). It carries an Arena rating of 1577, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, galaxy ranks #80 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #308 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #902 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #1,037 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
galaxy is pronounced /ˈɡæl.ək.si/.
Why “galaxy” is a great word
A vast, gravitationally bound system of billions of stars, along with interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter, of which the Milky Way is one. From Middle English galaxye, from Old French galaxie, from Latin galaxias, from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxías, 'Milky Way'), a shortening of γαλαξίας κύκλος (galaxías kúklos, 'milky circle'), from γάλα (gála, 'milk'). Unlike a nebula, which is a constituent cloud within the stellar architecture, or a constellation, which is a flat, human-drawn pattern on the celestial dome, a galaxy is the fundamental island universe of reality. It is the organized spiral, the barred wheel, the elliptical cloud of billions of suns held in silent negotiation; the cool silver smear across a midnight desert sky, the faint, luminous breath on the inside of a winter window, the chalky streak left on a finger after breaking open a fossilized seashell—each a whisper of that ancient milk spilled across the vault of night, now congealed into stars.
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”).
name
- Synonym of Milky Way Galaxy (“our galaxy”).e.g.“See yonder, lo, the Galaxyë / Which men clepeth the Milky Wey, / For hit is whyt.” — 1380, Geoffrey Chaucer, The House of Fame:
noun
- The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated stars which appears in the night sky over earth.e.g.“So may thy cheekes red outweare scarlet dye, / And their white, whitenesse of the Galaxie [...].” — 1633, John Donne, Sapho to Philænis:
- 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.
- An assemblage of things or people seen as luminous or brilliant.e.g.“[a] galaxy of science fiction stars.” — 1936 December 7, Thrilling Wonder Stories, page 127, column 1:
- Any print or pattern reminiscent of a galaxy, generally consisting of blending, semiopaque patches of vibrant color on a dark background.e.g.“Her walls and ceiling were covered with galaxy wallpaper; it was like stepping into space.” — 2016, Reyna Young, Hanover Falls, page 42:
verb
- To furnish with galaxies.
- To gather together into a luminous whole.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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