- pronunciation:
- gae
l
k
si
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| inflections: |
galaxies |
| definition: |
A galaxy is a collection of billions of stars, planets, and other objects in space. Earth is located in one tiny part of a galaxy called the Milky Way, but there are many, many other galaxies in the universe.
Powerful telescopes help us see other galaxies from Earth.
|
The word
galaxy comes
galaktos, an ancient Greek word that means "milk." The Latin word for "milk",
lac, also came from this Greek word. The Latin phrase
via lactea, or "the Milky Way," is where the name of Earth's galaxy comes from.