galaxy
noun
Newsweek
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The system of stars that includes our sun looks, in the night sky, like a broad band of light. We call this band the Milky Way. The idea of the whiteness of the Milky Way being similar to that of milk is much older than the English language, however. Galaxias, the Greek word for the Milky Way, was derived from the Greek gala, “milk.” English galaxy, derived from Greek galaxias, was not used until the 19th century as a generic term for other star systems as well as the one in which we live.
Examples of galaxy in a Sentence
Lauren Jones, Travel + Leisure, 20 Sep. 2025
The fifth image could not be explained by the visible foreground galaxies alone.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Sep. 2025
This is a case where the science is interesting, in the sense that using the absorption signatures of the background quasar light to reveal signatures of star-forming galaxies that lie along those lines-of-sight is a spectacularly successful new technique.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 19 Sep. 2025
Corrupt superheroes, nefarious loan sharks, ghostly visitors and hilarious adventures in a galaxy far, far away.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for galaxy
Cite this Entry
“Galaxy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galaxy. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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galaxy
noun
Middle English galaxie "the Milky Way," from Latin galaxias (same meaning), from Greek galaxias "Milky Way," from galakt-, gala "milk"
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