Astronomy - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

as·tron·o·my

Audio Help [uh-stron-uh-mee] Pronunciation Key

–noun

the science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth's atmosphere.

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME astronomie (< AF) < L astronomia < Gk. See astro-, -nomy

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Astronomy

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

as·tron·o·my Audio Help (ə-strŏn'ə-mē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. as·tron·o·mies

The scientific study of matter in outer space, especially the positions, dimensions, distribution, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial bodies and phenomena.
A system of knowledge or beliefs about celestial phenomena: the various astronomies of ancient civilizations.

[Middle English astronomie, from Old French, from Latin astronomia, from Greek astronomiā : astro-, astro- + -nomiā, -nomy.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
astronomy

1205, from O.Fr. astronomie, from L. astronomia, from Gk. astronomia, from astron "star" (from PIE base *ster- "star") + nomos "arranging, regulating," related to nemein "to deal out" (see numismatics). Used earlier than astrology and originally including it. Astronomical is 1556 as "concerning astronomy;" as "concerning very large figures" it dates from 1899. Astrophysics first recorded 1869.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

astronomy
noun
the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
astronomy [əˈstronəmi] noun

the study of the stars and their movements
Example: He is studying astronomy.

Arabic:	عِلْم الفَلَك
Chinese (Simplified):	天文学
Chinese (Traditional):	天文學
Czech:	astronomie
Danish:	astronomi
Dutch:	astronomie
Estonian:	astronoomia
Finnish:	astronomia
French:	astronomie
German:	die Astronomie
Greek:	αστρονομία
Hungarian:	csillagászat
Icelandic:	stjörnufræði
Indonesian:	ilmu bintang, falak
Italian:	astronomia

Japanese:	天文学
Korean:	천문학
Latvian:	astronomija
Lithuanian:	astronomija
Norwegian:	astronomi
Polish:	astronomia
Portuguese (Brazil):	astronomia
Portuguese (Portugal):	astronomia
Romanian:	astronomie
Russian:	астрономия
Slovak:	astronómia
Slovenian:	astronomija
Spanish:	astronomía
Swedish:	astronomi
Turkish:	gökbilim, astronomi

See also: astronomic(al)

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

astronomy Audio Help (ə-strŏn'ə-mē) Pronunciation Key
The scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. Astronomy deals with the position, size, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects. Astronomers analyze not only visible light but also radio waves, x-rays, and other ranges of radiation that come from sources outside the Earth's atmosphere.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
astronomy

The science that deals with the universe beyond the Earth. It describes the nature, position, and motion of the stars, planets, and other objects in the skies, and their relation to the Earth.

[Chapter:] Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Astronomy

As*tron"o*mer\, n. [See Astronomy.]

1. An astrologer. [Obs.] --Shak.

2. One who is versed in astronomy; one who has a knowledge of the laws of the heavenly orbs, or the principles by which their motions are regulated, with their various phenomena.

An undevout astronomer is mad. --Young.

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