Astronomic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Extremely large in size or amount, especially in a way that seems almost beyond comprehension or measurement
2. Pertaining to the study of celestial bodies and phenomena, this term also describes something incredibly vast or enormous, indicating a scale that can be difficult to comprehend
3. Relating to the universe and its phenomena, this term denotes something strikingly immense or unimaginable in size and scope

Etymology: "Astronomic" is "astronomical" with the adjectival ending cut off, and the shorter form is the older of the two. It comes from Latin "astronomicus", which in turn came from Greek "astronomikos", built from "astron" (star) and "nomos" (law, arrangement). The base sense was simply "of astronomy" or "of the stars," a meaning that holds today in technical writing. The figurative sense, meaning vast beyond ordinary measure, grew out of the sheer scale of the numbers astronomers were working with. Once distances and quantities were measured in the trillions of miles or light-years, "astronomical" became a natural word for anything enormous. The shorter form has been used in the same way, though "astronomical" is the more common choice in modern English.

Synonyms: astronomical, cosmic, immense

Antonyms: insignificant, small