comet
Meanings
Plural: comets
Noun
- (astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
- A small Solar System body consisting mainly of volatile ice, dust and particles of rock whose very eccentric solar orbit periodically brings it close enough to the Sun that the ice vaporises to form an atmosphere, or coma, which may be blown by the solar wind to produce a visible tail.
- A celestial phenomenon with the appearance of such a body.
- Any of several species of hummingbird found in the Andes.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English comete, partly from Old English comēta and partly from Old French comete, both from Latin comētēs, from Ancient Greek κομήτης (komḗtēs, “longhaired”), short for ἀστὴρ κομήτης ([astēr] komētēs, "longhaired [star])" and referring to the tail of a comet, from κόμη (kómē, “hair”). Compare English faxed star and Latin crīnīta stēlla (“comet”, literally “(long) haired star”).
Synonyms
faxed star, ☄
Scrabble Score: 9
comet is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordcomet is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
comet is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 11
comet is a valid Words With Friends word