galaxy

[ gal-uhk-see ]

noun

, plural gal·ax·ies.

1. Astronomy.
   1. a large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space.
   2. Often the galaxy or the Galaxy. the system of stars in which the earth and the sun are located; the Milky Way.
2. any large and brilliant or impressive assemblage of people or things:

   Guests at the party included a whole galaxy of opera stars.

Galaxy

¹

/ ˈɡæləksɪ /

noun

1. the Galaxy
   the spiral galaxy, approximately 100 000 light years in diameter, that contains the solar system about three fifths of the distance from its centre Also known asthe Milky Way System See also Magellanic Cloud

galaxy

²

/ ˈɡæləksɪ /

noun

1. any of a vast number of star systems held together by gravitational attraction in an asymmetric shape (an irregular galaxy ) or, more usually, in a symmetrical shape (a regular galaxy ), which is either a spiral or an ellipse Former namesisland universeextragalactic nebula galactic
2. a splendid gathering, esp one of famous or distinguished people

galaxy

/ găl′ək-sē /

1. Any of numerous large-scale collections of stars, gas, and dust that make up the visible universe. Galaxies are held together by the gravitational attraction of the material contained within them, and most are organized around a galactic nucleus into elliptical or spiral shapes, with a small percentage of galaxies classed as irregular in shape. A galaxy may range in diameter from some hundreds of light-years for the smallest dwarfs to hundreds of thousands of light-years for the largest ellipticals, and may contain from a few million to several trillion stars. Many galaxies are grouped into clusters, with the clusters themselves often grouped into larger superclusters.
2. See more at active galaxySee also elliptical galaxy
3. the Galaxy. The Milky Way.

galaxy

1. A large, self-contained mass of stars .

Notes

A common form for galaxies is a bright center with spiral arms radiating outward.

The sun belongs to the galaxy called the Milky Way .

The universe contains billions of galaxies.

Word History and Origins

Origin of galaxy¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galaxie, galaxias, from Medieval Latin galaxia, galaxias, ultimately from Greek galaxías kýklos “the Milky Way”; cycle, galacto-

Word History and Origins

Origin of galaxy¹

C14 (in the sense: the Milky Way), from Medieval Latin galaxia, from Latin galaxias, from Greek, from gala milk; related to Latin lac milk

Example Sentences

His vision seems to have been formed at the age when adolescents become enthralled by science fiction movies set in faraway galaxies — which isn’t to say that they can remain entertaining for adults, too.

From Los Angeles Times

I love a deep field image that shows the most distant galaxy cluster we've ever seen.

From Salon

Iran has a whole galaxy of allied heavily-armed militias around the Middle East, the so-called "Axis of Resistance".

From BBC

At 58, he is the father of three young children, which keeps him connected to the new ways of video consumption that are a galaxy away from his analog upbringing.

From Los Angeles Times

"In these early epochs, the amount of gas around galaxies is so large that continuous star formation is the norm. But in this galaxy this process is not happening."

From Salon