Etymologically
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astronomical

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 11:14. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌæs.tɹəˈnɒm.ɪ.kəl/[1]
  • US: /ˌæs.tɹəˈnɑm.ɪ.kəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin astronomicus (“astronomical”) with the English suffix -al,[2][3][4] and the Latin word comes from Ancient Greek ἀστρονομικός (astronomikós),[3][5][4] a derivative of the Greek words for astronomy and an astronomer.[3][5] The Shorter Oxford also allows French astronomique as a source,[6] and Etymonline forms it from English astronomy + -ical.[7] The shorter astronomic is recorded later.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to astronomy: 1551, in a title by R. Recorde.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The colloquial sense "enormously large", from the huge numbers, distances and sizes that astronomy deals with, is recorded from 1871 in the OED,[2] from 1899 in Etymonline[7] and the late 19th century in the Shorter Oxford.[6] The plural noun astronomicals meant astronomical matters from 1658, and in mathematics, fractions expressed in sixtieths (before 1690 to 1881).[2] The term astronomical unit, the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun used as a unit of distance in space, dates from 1909.[7][6]

Timeline

  • 1551 – of or relating to astronomy.[2][3]
  • 1658 – plural noun, astronomical matters.[2]
  • before 1690 – plural noun, sexagesimal fractions (obsolete by 1881).[2]
  • 1871 – very large (1899 in Etymonline).[2][7]
  • 1909 – astronomical unit.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to astronomy: an astronomical observatory.[8][3][2]
  2. (informal) Enormously large: Rents in the city centre have become astronomical.[8][2][6]

Word family

  • astronomically
  • astronomical unit
  • astronomical year
  • astronomical clock

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins