Comet Definition

kŏmĭt

comets

noun

A small, frozen mass of water, gas, rocks, and dust revolving around the sun in a parabolic or elliptical orbit: as it nears the sun it vaporizes, forming a coma and, usually, a long tail of ions that points away from the sun.

Webster's New World

(astronomy) A celestial body consisting mainly of ice, dust and gas in a (usually very eccentric) orbit around the Sun and having a "tail" of matter blown back from it by the solar wind as it approaches the Sun.

Wiktionary

A celestial phenomenon with the appearance given by the orbiting celestial body.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
aldebaran

Other Word Forms of Comet

Noun

Singular:

comet

Plural:

comets

Origin of Comet

Middle English comete from Old English comēta from Late Latin from Latin comētēs from Greek komētēs long-haired (star), comet from komē hair

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Old French comete (French: comète), from Latin cometes, from Ancient Greek κομήτης (komētēs, “longhaired”), referring to the tail of a comet, from κόμη (komē, “hair”).

From Wiktionary