galatea

¹ American  

[gal-uh-tee-uh] / ˌgæl əˈti ə /

noun

1. a strong cotton fabric, plain or striped, for clothing.

---

Galatea ² American  

[gal-uh-tee-uh] / ˌgæl əˈti ə /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a sea nymph who was the lover of Acis.

2. a maiden who had been an ivory statue carved by Pygmalion and brought to life by Aphrodite in response to his prayers.

---

Galatea ¹ British  

/ ˌɡæləˈtɪə /

noun

1. Greek myth a statue of a maiden brought to life by Aphrodite in response to the prayers of the sculptor Pygmalion, who had fallen in love with his creation

---

galatea ² British  

/ ˌɡæləˈtɪə /

noun

1. a strong twill-weave cotton fabric, striped or plain, for clothing

---

Etymology

Origin of galatea

First recorded in 1880–85; named after the 19th-century British man-of-war H.M.S. Galatea; the fabric was once used for children's sailor suits

Example Sentences

All he has to do is scrawl a wobbly triumph of galatea or et in arcadia ego on a canvas, and suddenly he's up there with Roberto Calasso, if not Edward Gibbon.

From Time Magazine Archive

It would scarce be possible to conceive a situation more forlorn than that of the castaway crew of the galatea.

From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne

The first night after his departure from Coary, he consented that the galatea should lie to,—moored to some bushes that grew upon the banks of the river.

From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne

The galatea must go on manned by her own people, and the old Indian who was to act as pilot.

From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne

The crew of the galatea were on the alert, with awe depicted on every face.

From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne