Milky Way

Meaning

1. The Milky Way Galaxy, the galaxy in which Earth is located.
2. A broad band of diffuse white light, visible in the night sky; our view of the dense portions of the Milky Way Galaxy from inside the galaxy.

Synonyms

Galaxy

🌌

galaxy

🌌

Milky Way Galaxy

Milky Way System

Han River

sky-river

frontier

via lactea

nebula

star system

universe

Translations

Milchstraße

🌌

Via Lattea

🌌

Vía Láctea

🌌

Via Láctea

🌌

Γαλαξίας

Voie lactée

Via Làctia

🌌

Voie Lactée

Via Lactea

🌌

Melkweg

🌌

Samanyolu

🌌

melkweg

🌌

درب التبانة

🌌

voie lactée

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: Milky Wey

Cognate with Old English: Īringes weġ

Cognate with Old Norse: Mjólkrhringr

In summary

From Middle English Milky Wey, a calque of Latin Via Lactea (literally “milky road”), a calque of Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxías), referring to its appearance as a pale band of stars across the sky. Compare also Old English Īringes weġ (“Milky Way”), Old Norse Mjólkrhringr (“Milky Way”, literally “milk-ring, milk-circle”). The reference to the galaxy is an extension of the second sense.