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• galatea
  galatea

  noun

  a strong cotton fabric, plain or striped, for clothing.
• Galatea
  Galatea

  noun

  a sea nymph who was the lover of Acis.

galatea

¹ American  

[gal-uh-tee-uh] / ˌgæl əˈti ə /

noun

1. a strong cotton fabric, plain or striped, for clothing.

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Galatea ² American  

[gal-uh-tee-uh] / ˌgæl əˈti ə /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a sea nymph who was the lover of Acis.

2. a maiden who had been an ivory statue carved by Pygmalion and brought to life by Aphrodite in response to his prayers.

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Galatea ¹ British  

/ ˌɡæləˈtɪə /

noun

1. Greek myth a statue of a maiden brought to life by Aphrodite in response to the prayers of the sculptor Pygmalion, who had fallen in love with his creation

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galatea ² British  

/ ˌɡæləˈtɪə /

noun

1. a strong twill-weave cotton fabric, striped or plain, for clothing

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

galatea Galatea

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

And with this dread belief, scarce for a moment out of their minds, did our adventurers pass the remainder of that remarkable night, the galatea galloping onward, they could not tell whither.

From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Mayne Reid

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 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

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 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 ● Dec. 6, 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

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