Galilean

¹ American  

[gal-uh-ley-uhn, -lee-] / ˌgæl əˈleɪ ən, -ˈli- /

adjective

1. of or relating to Galileo, his theories, or his discoveries.

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Galilean ² American  

[gal-uh-lee-uhn] / ˌgæl əˈli ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Galilee.

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Galilee.

2. a Christian.

3. the Galilean, Jesus.

Galilean ¹ British  

/ ˌɡælɪˈliːən /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Galilee

2. 1. an epithet of Jesus Christ

   2. (often plural) a Christian

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adjective

1. of Galilee

Galilean ² British  

/ ˌɡælɪˈleɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Galileo

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Etymology

Origin of Galilean¹

First recorded in 1720–30; Galile(o) + -an

Origin of Galilean²

1605–15; < Latin Galilae(a) Galilee + -an

Example Sentences

By looking through a telescope, you’ll be able to see Jupiter’s banded atmosphere and four Galilean moons, which may appear as tiny dots lined up around the planet, National Geographic says.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2024

Slightly larger than Earth's moon, Io is the innermost of Jupiter's Galilean moons, which in addition to Io include Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

From Science Daily • May 30, 2024

Arnold doesn’t feel comfortable using that term, preferring to say it depicts Christ as a person of color, probably Middle Eastern, which she says would make sense, given where the Galilean Jewish preacher was from.

From Seattle Times • May 13, 2023

The differential compositions of the four Galilean moons has puzzled researchers for decades—ever since the first high-quality density measurements of the satellites were obtained.

From Scientific American • Apr. 24, 2023

We anticipate underground oceans of slush and water in these moons, a hint, before we have ever seen the surfaces of the Galilean satellites close up, that they may be very different one from another.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan