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  • vela
    vela
    noun
    plural of velum.
  • Vela
    Vela
    noun
    the Sail, a southern constellation: one of the subordinate constellations into which Argo is divided.

vela

1 American  
[vee-luh] / ˈvi lə /

noun

  1. plural of velum.


Vela 2 American  
[vee-luh, vey-] / ˈvi lə, ˈveɪ- /

noun

Astronomy.
  • Velorum
    genitive
  1. the Sail, a southern constellation: one of the subordinate constellations into which Argo is divided.

  2. U.S. Aerospace. one of a series of reconnaissance satellites designed to detect nuclear explosions.


Vela British  
/ ˈviːlə /

noun

  1. a constellation in the S hemisphere, close to Puppis and Carina and crossed by the Milky Way, that has four second-magnitude stars and a young bright pulsar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Vela

< Latin, plural of vēlum sail

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.

See Examples For:

“I could never dress like this in Veracruz, where I live now,” said Ximena Ximénez, 27, who returned to Juchitán for the vela and wore a black, gold and white garment with a matching headpiece.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 11, 2024

She sat patiently as ardent beauticians prepared her for her formal investiture, a highlight of the three-day festival — or vela — that celebrates muxe culture here every November.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 11, 2024

This weekend's festival is called the "True Fearless Seekers of Danger" vela, a name that harkens to the risk many members of the community face.

From Reuters Nov. 19, 2023

By tua vela is to be understood "your own Umbrella."

From Umbrellas and Their History by William Sangster

The roof of the fourth ventricle widens out very much and remains largely epithelial as the superior and inferior medullary vela.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various

"The findings of this study further point to the importance of attending to mental and behavioral health for cardiovascular disease prevention and cardiovascular health optimization," Vela said.

From Science Daily Sep. 1, 2026

In its statement on X, Centcom says M/V Vela attempted to sail to an Iranian port without naming it.

From BBC Aug. 11, 2026

Vela was also co-founded by François Gabart, a professional yacht racer that Fernandez-Ferri called “the Michael Jordan of sailing.”

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 22, 2026

Just as Vela represented the large Mexican community on the south-west coast of California, Son represents Los Angeles' considerable Korean population.

From BBC Oct. 7, 2025

For example, an American Vela satellite detected an intense double flash of light from the vicinity of the South Atlantic and Western Indian Ocean on September 22, 1979.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Although none were as spectacular as γ Velorum, this effort more than doubled the catalog of known Wolf-Rayets.

From Scientific American Aug. 18, 2023

The closest is approximately 1,000 light-years away in the Gamma Velorum star system, which is visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

From Scientific American Mar. 17, 2023

It lies between φ Velorum and α Crucis.

From Astronomical Curiosities Facts and Fallacies by J. Ellard Gore

The brightest is γ Velorum with m = 2.22.

From Lectures on Stellar Statistics by Carl Vilhelm Ludvig Charlier

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