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

Judges have struggled even to define how copyright infringement principles apply to technology that doesn’t output exact copies of copyrighted works but “mimics” them — rather like how the beverage machine in Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” delivered “a cupful of liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.”

From Los Angeles Times

Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil and Riqui Puig each score goals as the Galaxy defeat Colorado 4-1 to advance to the MLS Cup conference semifinals.

From Los Angeles Times

The actual best coaches of the year — the Galaxy’s Greg Vanney and LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo.

From Los Angeles Times

If LAFC, which has the fifth-highest payroll in the league, can beat Seattle on Nov. 23, and the Galaxy, whose payroll ranks seventh, gets by Minnesota United the next day, the neighbors will meet in the Western Conference final.

From Los Angeles Times

Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

From Los Angeles Times