Gaia

[ gey-uh ]

noun

1. Classical Mythology the ancient Greek goddess who personified the earth and whose numerous offspring include Uranus, by whom she bore the Titans and the Cyclopes.
2. the earth, when regarded as the self-regulating organism described by the Gaia hypothesis:

   Our destiny is dependent on what we do for Gaia as a whole.

Gaia

/ ˈɡeɪə /

noun

1. the goddess of the earth, who bore Uranus and by him Oceanus, Cronus, and the Titans

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gaia¹

First recorded in 1970–75; from Greek gaîa “earth, the earth”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gaia¹

from Greek gaia earth

Example Sentences

The discovery was made possible by the European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft, which is mapping more than a billion stars throughout the Milky Way and beyond, tracking their motion, luminosity, temperature, and composition.

From Science Daily

Esteban Cardenas said the dogs — Ares, Kratos, Zeus, Titan and Gaia — were part of the first class of canines used by the department’s rescue unit, which works with German shepherds and golden retrievers.

From Seattle Times

This black hole was spotted in data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission because it imposes an odd 'wobbling' motion on the companion star orbiting it.

From Science Daily

Panuzzo is an astronomer at the Observatoire de Paris, part of France's National Centre for Scientific Research, and a member of the collaboration of researchers working with data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission.

From Salon

Europe’s Gaia space telescope recently released the rough chemical composition for some 60,000 asteroids.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• atmosphere
• ecosystem