Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: Late Latin constellatio, from Latin com- ( COM-) + stella 'star'

constellation

 noun
     
Related topics: Astronomy
con‧stel‧la‧tion [countable]
1HA a group of stars that forms a particular pattern and has a name:
a star in the constellation of Orion
2

a constellation of something

literary a group of people or things that are similar:
a constellation of ideas
WORD FOCUS: space WORD FOCUS: space
vehicles used in space: spaceship, spacecraft, rocket, (space) shuttle, probe, satellite, space station
someone who travels in space: astronaut, cosmonaut Russian
parts of a rocket's journey: countdown, launch, blast-off/take-off/lift-off, leaving the earth's atmosphere, going into orbit, re-entering the earth's atmosphere, splashdown/touchdown
places and things in space: planet, moon, star, sun, satellite, solar system, constellation, galaxy, universe, the cosmos, black hole, quasar, comet, meteor, asteroid
the study of space: astronomyspace

➔ See also space
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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