Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

nebula

 - 8 dictionary results
Save on Nebula
Wide selection, all manufacturers: Check 6.500+ shops and make a deal!
www.Nebula.best-price.com

neb⋅u⋅la

  [neb-yuh-luh]
Use nebula in a Sentence
–noun, plural -lae  [-lee, -lahy] , -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 nephélē cloud, G Nebel fog, haze

Related forms:
neb⋅u⋅lar, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To nebula
Save on Nebula
Wide selection, all manufacturers: Check 6.500+ shops and make a deal!
www.Nebula.best-price.com
gal·ax·y   (gāl'ək-sē)   
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.]
neb·u·la   (něb'yə-lə)   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

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.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: neb·u·la
Pronunciation: 'neb-y&-l&
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural neb·u·las or neb·u·lae /-"lE, -"lI/
: a slight cloudy opacity of the cornea
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

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.
Cite This Source
Computing Dictionary

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
Cite This Source
Search another word or see nebula on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way