Where does “galaxy” come from?

Galaxy derives from Middle English galaxye, from Old French galaxie, from Latin galaxias, from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας, ultimately from Ancient Greek γάλα meaning milk, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European glakt-.

galaxy (English): The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated...

Definitions

  1. The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated...

Ancestry of “galaxy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishgalaxye
2Old Frenchgalaxie
3Latingalaxiāsthe Galaxy, the Milky Way
4Ancient Greekγαλαξίαςthe Milky Way galaxy; tailor's chalk; dogfish
5Ancient Greekγάλαmilk; milky sap; the Milky Way galaxy
6Proto-Indo-Europeanglakt-

Words derived from “galaxy

Every word from Proto-Indo-European glakt-Every word from Ancient Greek γάλαEvery word from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας
galaxy — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer