galatea

¹ American  

[gal-uh-tee-uh] / ˌgæl əˈti ə /

noun

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

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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.

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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

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galatea ² British  

/ ˌɡæləˈtɪə /

noun

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

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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

The steersman, confident of being on the right course, gave himself no further uneasiness; but, oncePg 77 more renewing his hold upon the steering oar, guided the galatea in the middle of the channel.

From Our Young Folks, Vol 1, No. 1 An Illustrated Magazine by Hamilton, Gail

To be sure there was not much choice between the limbs, but the great fork, across which the galatea had broken, appeared to offer a position rather better than any other.

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

On the galatea putting into the port of Coary, it was found that nearly every man in the place was off upon a hunting excursion,—turtle and cowfish being the game that had called them out.

From Our Young Folks, Vol 1, No. 1 An Illustrated Magazine by Hamilton, Gail

Once or twice the rigging of the galatea brushed among the branches; and they used every effort to stay their runaway craft, and bring her to an anchorage.

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