English
galaxy
Galaxy comes from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας ‘Milky Way’, and goes back to γᾰ́λᾰ ‘milk’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγᾰ́λᾰ1‘milk’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγαλαξίας2galaxías‘Milky Way’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgalaxias2
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400galaxie2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500galaxye2
- Englishearliest quotation 1633galaxy2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γαλαξίας
- 2 Wiktionary, English galaxy
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1633, John Donne: “So may thy cheekes red outweare scarlet dye, /…”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγᾰ́λᾰWiktionary, Ancient Greek γαλαξίας‘milk’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγαλαξίαςWiktionary, English galaxygalaxías‘Milky Way’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgalaxiasWiktionary, English galaxy
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400galaxieWiktionary, English galaxy
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500galaxyeWiktionary, English galaxy
- Englishearliest quotation 1633galaxyWiktionary, English galaxy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1633, John Donne: “So may thy cheekes red outweare scarlet dye, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gláktn̥ ‘milk’
through Ancient Greek γᾰ́λᾰ ‘milk’
Today it means
noun The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated stars which appears in the night sky over earth.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “galaxy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek γαλαξίας. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek γᾰ́λᾰ / galaxy