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.
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
The trunk of a tree,—a grand manguba, big enough to make a montaria, an igarité,—a galatea, if you like,—a great canoe that will carry us all!
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne
The steersman, confident of being on the right course, gave himself no further uneasiness; but, once more renewing his hold upon the steering oar, guided the galatea in the middle of the channel.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne
To be sure there was not much choice between the limbs, but the great fork, across which the galatea had broken, appeared to offer a position rather better than any other.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne
The galatea must go on manned by her own people, and the old Indian who was to act as pilot.
From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne
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.
