Nebula comes to us from Latin, where it means "mist" or "cloud." In its earliest English uses in the 1600s, nebula was chiefly a medical term that could refer either to a cloudy formation in urine or to a cloudy speck or film on the eye that caused vision problems. It was first applied to great interstellar clouds of gas and dust in the early 1700s. The adjective nebulous comes from the same Latin root as nebula, and it is considerably older, being first used as a synonym of cloudy or foggy as early as the 1300s. Like nebula, however, this adjective was not used in an astronomical sense until the mid-1600s.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebLocated in the middle of the nebula, these hot stars, known as the Trapezium cluster, emit harsh ultraviolet radiation that shapes the region. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Sep. 2022 The images are the most detailed and sharpest taken of the nebula -- which is situated in the Orion constellation 1,350 light-years away from Earth -- and the latest offering from the Webb telescope, which began operating in July. Katie Hunt, CNN, 12 Sep. 2022 James Webb captured this image of the Tarantula nebula thanks to its Mid-infrared Instrument (MIRI). Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 8 Sep. 2022 The result is a mosaic image of the nebula that's almost 125MB when downloaded at its original size. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 6 Sep. 2022 Looking like the edge of a cliff or a mountain range in space, the lower half of the spectacular image shows a massive cloud of orangey gas and dust—the edge of the nebula! Jamie Carter, Forbes, 19 July 2022 Here are views of the Southern Ring nebula and its pair of stars. Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, 12 July 2022 Finally, Webb may be able to detect some interesting molecules in the cooler areas of the nebula. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 July 2022 The edges of the nebula are crisp, many more glittering stars appear, and the gas and dust of this stellar nursery appears to have distinct mountains and valleys. Eva Botkin-kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Latin, mist, cloud; akin to Old High German nebul fog, Greek nephelē, nephos cloud