comet
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
comet /ˈkɒmɪt/
▶noun a celestial object which consists of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a diffuse tail, and typically follows a highly eccentric orbit around the sun.
– derivatives
cometary adjective.
cometary adjective.
– origin OE, from L. cometa, from Gk komētēs ‘long-haired (star)’, from komē ‘hair’; reinforced by OFr. comete.
'comet' also found in these Oxford entries:
