Astronautical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to the study and application of technologies related to space travel and exploration, including vehicle design and navigation
2. Involving the scientific and engineering principles governing travel outside of Earth's atmosphere, focusing on spacecraft and their operations
3. Relating to the field of space exploration and travel, this term encompasses the engineering, technology, and scientific efforts involved in human or robotic missions beyond the Earth’s atmosphere

Etymology: "Astronautical" is a plain formation built from "astronaut" plus the adjective ending "-ical," and the "astronaut" part is itself a coinage from Greek. Its first element goes back to Ancient Greek "astēr," meaning "star," which also gave the combining form "astro-." The second element comes from "naútēs," "sailor," from "naûs," "ship," so "astronaut" literally meant "star-sailor." The "-ical" ending arrived in English through a chain of borrowings: Latin "-icus" passed through Old French "-ique" and Middle English "-ic," while the "-al" ending came through Latin "-ālis" and Old French "-al," so "-ical" was built by stacking these two suffixes. Adding it to "astronaut" produced an adjective for anything relating to space travel and the technology that makes it possible.

Synonyms: space, cosmic