# galaxy

Pronunciation: say "GAL-uhk-see" /ˈɡæl.ək.si/

## Noun

1. Any of the billions of independent systems in the known universe, each a coherent mass of millions or billions of stars together with dust, black holes and other matter.
   - Simple: A huge group of millions or billions of stars, plus dust and black holes, that forms one system in space.
   - _Astronomers spotted a faint galaxy whose light had traveled for billions of years to reach Earth._
   - _When two galaxies collide, their stars rarely hit one another, because the distances between them are so vast._
2. A gathering of people or things thought of as brilliant or dazzling.
   - Simple: A group of people or things that seem to shine, like stars.
   - _The charity gala drew a galaxy of Hollywood stars._
   - _The museum's new wing displays a galaxy of Renaissance masterpieces._
3. A print or pattern that recalls a galaxy, usually made of blended, semi-opaque patches of bright color on a dark background.
   - Simple: A pattern that looks like a galaxy in space, with bright colors that blend together on a dark background.
   - _The shop's best seller this year was a hoodie in a swirling galaxy print._
   - _She repainted her bedroom ceiling with a galaxy design so it would feel like sleeping under the night sky._

## Verb

4. To supply or fill something, such as a sky, with galaxies.
   - Simple: To fill something, like the night sky, with galaxies.
   - _We lay on the dunes, far from any town, beneath a sky galaxied to the horizon._
   - _The planetarium dome, galaxied with projected light, drew gasps from the children._

## Noun

5. The Milky Way: the band of densely packed stars that appears across the night sky as seen from Earth. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The Milky Way, the long band of stars you can see across the night sky.
   - _On clear summer nights the shepherds lay on the hillside and traced the galaxy from one horizon to the other._
   - _The old star chart shows the galaxy as a pale ribbon winding between the constellations._

## Verb

6. To gather things together into a single shining whole. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To bring things together so they shine as one bright group.

## Origin

From Middle English galaxye, from Old French galaxie, from Latin galaxias, from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxías, "Milky Way"). This was a shortening of γαλαξίας κύκλος (galaxías kúklos, "milky circle"), from γάλα (gála, "milk").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/galaxy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).