galatea
noun
a strong cotton fabric, plain or striped, for clothing.
galatea
1 American
[gal-uh-tee-uh]
/ ˌgæl əˈti ə /
noun
Galatea
2
American
[gal-uh-tee-uh]
/ ˌgæl əˈti ə /
noun
Classical Mythology.
-
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.
Galatea
1
British
/ ˌɡæləˈtɪə /
noun
galatea
2
British
/ ˌɡæləˈtɪə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of galatea
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
It would scarce be possible to conceive a situation more forlorn than that of the castaway crew of the galatea.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Mayne Reid
To Richard Trevannion the Mundurucú was comparatively a stranger, known only as a tapuyo employed by his uncle in the management of the galatea.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Mayne Reid
To escape drowning had been sufficient for their thoughts, and engrossed them for more than an hour after the galatea had gone down.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Mayne Reid
The first night after his departure from Coary, he consented that the galatea should lie to,—moored to some bushes that grew upon the banks of the river.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Mayne Reid
A Caltech led team used Webb to study Neptune's rings along with three of its inner moons, Larissa, Galatea, and Proteus.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
One interesting result, Davis says, is that signatures of magnesium-rich phyllosilicates were found in the spectra of Larissa, Galatea, and the rings -- minerals that only form in the presence of liquid water.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
A statuesque queen breathes life into the creation — the Henry Higgins of her own Eliza Doolittle, the Pygmalion of her Galatea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
A short story, by the author of “Circe,” retells the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2022
The lovelorn giant knew Galatea would never have him; his case was hopeless.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
