Astronomical

How to spell astronomical

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce astronomical

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does astronomical mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to astronomy or the scientific study of stars, planets, and space.
2. adjectiveExtremely large in amount or size, especially when describing numbers or costs.

Astronomical in a sentence

• The observatory recorded precise astronomical measurements every night.

• The repair bill turned out to be astronomical, far beyond what they had budgeted.

• Her thesis covered astronomical data gathered from several telescopes.

• The odds of winning the jackpot are astronomical.

Where does astronomical come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek astronomia, which combined astron, meaning 'star', with nomos, meaning 'law' or 'arrangement'; so the literal idea was 'the ordering of the stars'. Latin took it in as astronomia, and from there it passed through Old French before settling into English. The adjective astronomical appeared in English in the 1500s, first meaning simply 'relating to astronomy', the careful study of the heavens. Because the real distances and counts in astronomy are so vast, the word picked up a second, looser sense in the 1800s meaning 'enormously large', as in astronomical prices. The same astron root sits inside 'astronaut' (literally 'star sailor') and 'disaster' (originally 'a bad star'), which is a useful reminder that the tricky middle is spelled with that 'astro' rather than 'astra'.

How the word is built

• astro- (star)
• -nom- (from Greek nomos: law, arrangement)
• -ic
• -al (adjective suffixes)