galaxy

Etymology

From Middle English galaxye, galaxie, from Old French galaxie, from Latin galaxias, from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxías, “Milky Way”), from γάλα (gála, “milk”).

noun

1. (now rare) The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated stars which appears in the night sky over earth.
   So may thy cheekes red outweare scarlet dye, / And their white, whitenesse of the Galaxie …. 1633, John Donne, Sapho to Philænis
2. (astronomy) Any of the collections of many millions or billions of stars, galactic dust, black holes, etc. existing as independent and coherent systems, of which there are billions in the known universe.
3. (figurative) An assemblage of things or people seen as luminous or brilliant.
   [a] galaxy of science fiction stars. Dec 1936, Thrilling Wonder Stories, page 127, column 1
4. (fashion, design) Any print or pattern reminiscent of a galaxy, generally consisting of blending, semiopaque patches of vibrant color on a dark background.
   Her walls and ceiling were covered with galaxy wallpaper; it was like stepping into space. 2016, Reyna Young, Hanover Falls, page 42
   Her nerdy glasses sat perched on her face, and she wore a May the Force Be With You T-shirt with a black lace skirt, galaxy leggings, and a pair of white Star Wars Vans. 2017, Rebekah L. Purdy, Incriminating Dating
   She hurriedly said that she found an faded galaxy blanket. She loved galaxy patterned things. 2018, Isabel Scheck, Survival, page 15

verb

1. To furnish with galaxies.
   […] how he struggled at one time like a desperate man fiercly grappling with his mortal foe, and at another like a sanguine lover and noble minded youth, as the cliffy rocks impeded his progress, or dimmed the view he had caught of an aperture, through which the galaxied firmament was seen in its purity and holiness glowing with diamonds and saphires; […] 1836, anonymous author, “The Victim Bride: A Tale of Monadnock”, in The Philadelphia Visiter, volume 1, number 14, page 53
   In dazzling light expands the mighty Dome: / Mirror of Heaven,—but Heaven when she doth wear / All galaxied with Stars her flashing hair! 1838, John Edmund Reade, Italy: a poem, in six parts, page 138
   To be dwarfed in a galaxied sky, / doming, arcing, and revolving over / The little space I briefly occupy. 2018, Adrian G. R. Scott, “A Canticle to Creatureliness”, in A Night Sea Journey
2. (archaic) To gather together into a luminous whole.
   The brilliancies on one page of Lalla Roohk would have sufficed to establish that very reputation which has been in a great measure self-dimned by the galaxied lustre of the entire book. 1841, Edgar Allan Poe, “Review of New Books”, in Graham’s Magazine, volume 18, number 5, page 249
   How dazzling must their brightness be when they are galaxied in a single bosom! 1844, Horace Smith, Arthur Arundel: A Tale of the English Revolution, volume 1, page 172