galaxy

  • noun (pl. galaxies) 1 a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction. 2 (the Galaxy) the galaxy of which the solar system is a part; the Milky Way. 3 a large and impressive group of people or things.

  — ORIGIN from Greek galaxias kuklos ‘milky vault’ (referring to the Milky Way), from gala ‘milk’.

Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary

About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day

Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names