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nebula
10 dictionary results for: nebula
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
neb·u·la       [neb-yuh-luh] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -lae       [-lee, -lahy] Pronunciation Key, -las.
1.Astronomy.
a.Also called diffuse nebula. a cloud of interstellar gas and dust. Compare dark nebula, emission nebula, reflection nebula.
b.(formerly) any celestial object that appears nebulous, hazy, or fuzzy, and extended in a telescope view.
2.Pathology.
a.a faint opacity in the cornea.
b.cloudiness in the urine.
3.any liquid medication prepared for use as a spray.
[Origin: 1655–65; < L: a mist, vapor, cloud; akin to Gk nephélé cloud, G Nebel fog, haze]

—Related forms
neb·u·lar, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
gal·ax·y       (gāl'ək-sē)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. gal·ax·ies
    1. Any of numerous large-scale aggregates of stars, gas, and dust that constitute the universe, containing an average of 100 billion (1011) solar masses and ranging in diameter from 1,500 to 300,000 light-years. Also called nebula.
    2. often Galaxy The Milky Way.
  2. An assembly of brilliant, glamorous, or distinguished persons or things: a galaxy of theatrical performers.


[Middle English galaxie, the Milky Way, from Late Latin galaxiās, from Greek, from gala, galakt-, milk; see melg- in Indo-European roots.]

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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.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
neb·u·la       (něb'yə-lə)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. neb·u·lae (-lē') or neb·u·las
  1. Astronomy
    1. A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness depending on the way the mass absorbs or reflects incident radiation.
    2. See galaxy.
    3. A cloudy spot on the cornea.
    4. Cloudiness in the urine.
  2. Pathology
    1. A cloudy spot on the cornea.
    2. Cloudiness in the urine.
  3. A liquid medication applied by spraying.


[Middle English nebule, cloud, mist, from Latin nebula; see nebh- in Indo-European roots.]

neb'u·lar adj.
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nebula 
c.1420, nebule "a cloud, mist," from L. nebula "mist," from PIE *nebh- "cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky" (cf. Skt. nabhas- "vapor, cloud, mists, fog, sky;" Gk. nephele, nephos "cloud;" Ger. nebel "fog;" O.E. nifol "dark;" Welsh niwl "cloud, fog;" Slav. nebo). Re-borrowed from L. 1661 in sense of "cataracts in the eye;" astronomical meaning "cloud-like patch in the night sky" first recorded c.1730. As early as Hershel (1802) astronomers realized that some nebulae were star clusters, but distinction of gas clouds from distant galaxies was not made until c.1930.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
nebula

noun
1. a medicinal liquid preparation intended for use in an atomizer 
2. cloudiness of the urine 
3. an immense cloud of gas (mainly hydrogen) and dust in interstellar space 
4. (pathology) a faint cloudy spot on the cornea 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nebula       (něb'yə-lə)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural nebulae (něb'yə-lē') or nebulas
A visible, thinly spread cloud of interstellar gas and dust. Some nebulae are the remnants of a supernova explosion, others are gravity-induced condensations of the gases in the interstellar medium which in certain cases may become a site for the formation of new stars. The term was formerly used of any hazy, seemingly cloudlike object, including what are now recognized as other galaxies beyond the Milky Way; it is restricted now to actual clouds of gas and dust within our own galaxy. Nebulae are generally classified as bright or dark. Among the bright nebulae are cold clouds that reflect light from nearby stars (reflection nebulae) and hot, ionized clouds that glow with their own light (emission nebulae). Dark nebulae—cold clouds that absorb the passing light from background stars—are called absorption nebulae. See more at star.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
nebula [(neb-yuh-luh)]

plur. nebulae

In astronomy, a hazy patch of light visible in the sky. Some nebulae are clouds of gas within the Milky Way; others are distant galaxies. (See photo, next page.)


The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

nebula neb·u·la (něb'yə-lə)
n. pl. neb·u·las or neb·u·lae (-lē')

  1. A faint, foglike opacity of the cornea.
  2. A class of oily preparations for use in a nebulizer.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

Nebula
An early business-oriented language from ICL for the Ferranti Orion computer.
["NEBULA - A Programming Language for Data Processing", T.G. Braunholtz et al, Computer J 4(3):197-201 (1961)].
(1994-11-29)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Nebula

Neb"u*la\, n.; pl. Nebul[ae]. [L., mist, cloud; akin to Gr. ?, ?, cloud, mist, G. nebel mist, OHG. nebul, D. nevel, Skr. nabhas cloud, mist. Cf. Nebule.]

1. (Astron.) A faint, cloudlike, self-luminous mass of matter situated beyond the solar system among the stars. True nebul[ae] are gaseous; but very distant star clusters often appear like them in the telescope.

2. (Med.) (a) A white spot or a slight opacity of the cornea. (b) A cloudy appearance in the urine. [Obs.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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