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

This means the Galilean moons may have inherited organic material from two sources: the wider solar nebula and local chemical activity within Jupiter's own disk billions of years ago.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

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

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

For decades scientists have struggled to understand the strange density differences in Jupiter’s four Galilean moons—which, in order from closest to the planet to farthest from it, are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

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