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 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 Reid, Mayne
The steersman, confident of being on the right course, gave himself no further uneasiness; but, oncePg 77 more renewing his hold upon the steering oar, guided the galatea in the middle of the channel.
From Our Young Folks, Vol 1, No. 1 An Illustrated Magazine by Hamilton, Gail
The owner of the galatea endeavored to tempt the Ega crew to continue another stage.
From Our Young Folks, Vol 1, No. 1 An Illustrated Magazine by Hamilton, Gail
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
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.
