Stars and cows

September 3rd, 2009 at 07:00am Barry Wood

People who are lactose-intolerant have enough problems, so it’s a good thing that living in the Milky Way isn’t one of them.

But there is a connection. The prefix “lacto-” comes from the Latin “lac” for “milk.”

The Milky Way, the spiral galaxy that contains our sun and our dear planet, is a literal translation of the Latin “via lactea.”

But wait, there’s more. The words “galaxy” and “galactic” come from the Greek “gala,” meaning, you guessed it, “milk.”

In fact, Webster’s lists “lactic” as the first definition of “galactic,” with the astronomical application second.

However, the English “gala,” meaning “a festive occasion” or “a public entertainment,” is not from the Greek one. According to “The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories,” it came by way of Italian and Spanish from the Old French “gale,” or “rejoicing.” Webster’s speculates its origin may stretch back even further to the Arabic “khila,” which was “a royal presentation robe.”

And now I’ve probably milked this topic enough.

Entry Filed under: definitions, word origins