a sea nymph who was the lover of Acis.
a maiden who had been an ivory statue carved by Pygmalion and brought to life by Aphrodite in response to his prayers.
First recorded in 1880–85; named after the 19th-century British man-of-war H.M.S. Galatea; the fabric was once used for children's sailor suits
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
All he has to do is scrawl a wobbly triumph of galatea or et in arcadia ego on a canvas, and suddenly he's up there with Roberto Calasso, if not Edward Gibbon.
From Time Magazine Archive
Her old blue galatea overall, with the pattern worn faint in front, and the sleeves in rags, might have grown to her back.
From Poppy The Story of a South African Girl by Stockley, Cynthia
Unfortunately, their larder was lower than it had ever been, since the going down of the galatea.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne
Towards this tree the galatea was now going as straight as if she had been steered by the finger of Destiny itself.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne
Blue and white-striped galatea exactly suited the purpose, as it would be light for packing, and the colour could not run.
From Through Finland in Carts by Alec-Tweedie, Mrs. (Ethel)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
