comet
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comet¹
- /ˈkɒmɪt/
- /ˈkɑmət/
Rhymes with -ɒmɪt
Where it comes from
From Middle English comete, partly from Old English comēta and partly from Old French comete, both from Latin comētēs, from Ancient Greek κομήτης (komḗtēs, “longhaired”), short for ἀστὴρ κομήτης ([astēr] komētēs, "longhaired [star])" and referring to the tail of a comet, from κόμη (kómē, “hair”). Compare English faxed star and Latin crīnīta stēlla (“comet”, literally “(long) haired star”).
noun comets
- A small Solar System body consisting mainly of volatile ice, dust and particles of rock whose very eccentric solar orbit periodically brings it close enough to the Sun that the ice vaporises to form an atmosphere, or coma, which may be blown by the solar wind to produce a visible tail. And They made by the lifting of Their hands, each god according to his sign, the Bright One with the flaring tail to seek from the end of the Worlds to the end of them again, to return again after a hundred years. Man, when thou seest the comet, know that another seeketh besides thee nor ever findet
- A celestial phenomenon with the appearance of such a body. Upon his browes was pourtraid vgly death, And in his eies the furies of his heart, That ſhine as Comets, menacing reueng, And caſts a pale complexion on his cheeks.
- Any of several species of hummingbird found in the Andes.
Similar: ☄, faxed star
Comet²
Where it comes from
First attested in the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”. From comet.
proper noun
- The fifth reindeer of Santa Claus.
Comet³
Where it comes from
Coined by software engineer Alex Russell in March 2006. After the Comet brand of cleaning products, as a pun on Ajax, which is also both a Web programming technique and a brand of cleaning products.
proper noun
- A web application model in which a long-held HTTP request allows a web server to push data to a browser, without the browser explicitly requesting it.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: committed, commit, culprit, offender, guilty, guilt, shooting star, fireball, meteoroid, meteor, falling star, meteorite, blazing star, sungrazer, wandering star, dirty snowball
noun
Similar: ☄, faxed star
Translations
Every language
noun a celestial body, generally with a tail
| Español | cometa, guashuma |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 혜성 hyeseong |
| 日本語 | 彗星 suisei, 箒星 hōkiboshi |
| 中文 | 彗星 huìxīng, 掃帚星 /扫帚星 sàozhǒuxīng, 掃把星 /扫把星 sàobǎxīng |
| हिन्दी | धूमकेतु dhūmketu, केतुग्रह ketugrah, पुच्छल तारा pucchal tārā, केतु ketu, केतुतारा ketutārā |
| Português | cometa |
| Français | comète |
| Deutsch | Komet |
| Italiano | cometa |
| Ελληνικά | κομήτης komítis |
| Română | cometă |
| Русский | коме́та kométa |
| Tiếng Việt | sao chổi |
| العربية | مُذَنَّب muḏannab |
| עברית | שָׁבִיט shavít, כּוֹכַב שָׁבִיט kokháv shavít |
Talk about this word "comet." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/comet. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. comet. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/comet "comet." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/comet.Cite this
@misc{comet_2026,
title = {comet},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/comet},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
