Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Galaxy"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Galaxy \Gal"ax*y\, n.; pl. {Galaxies}. [F. galaxie, L. galaxias,
fr. Gr. ? (sc. ? circle), fr. ?, ?, milk; akin to L. lac. Cf.
{Lacteal}.]
1. (Astron.) The Milky Way; that luminous tract, or belt,
which is seen at night stretching across the heavens, and
which is composed of innumerable stars, so distant and
blended as to be distinguishable only with the telescope.
The term has recently been used for remote clusters of
stars. --Nichol.
2. A splendid assemblage of persons or things.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
galaxy
n 1: a splendid assemblage (especially of famous people)
2: tufted evergreen perennial herb having spikes of tiny white
flowers and glossy green round to heart-shaped leaves that
become coppery to maroon or purplish in fall [syn: {galax},
{cold's foot}, {wandflower}, {beetleweed}, {Galax
urceolata}]
3: (astronomy) a collection of star systems; any of the
billions of systems each having many stars and nebulae and
dust; "`extragalactic nebula' is a former name for
`galaxy'" [syn: {extragalactic nebula}]
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