Meanings
Halley's Comet1
alternative Halley's comet
- A great comet which can be seen from Earth every 75–76 years.
In the London papers of May 3 we have the following accounts […] It had a short broad tail in a direction opposite the sun ; as Dr Halley's comet ought to have ; being much foreshortened […]
The Scots Magazine, Vol. XXI (April 1759), p. 208Synonyms: 1P/Halley, Comet Halley, Halley
Halley's comet2
- alternativeAlternative form of Halley's Comet.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA great comet which can be seen from Earth every 75–76 years.
Origin
Circa 1758. Named after English astronomer Edmond Halley, who first computed its orbit and established its periodicity. Halley predicted the return of the comet (then last seen in 1682) in 1705; when it did return in late 1758, it quickly acquired this name.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 哈雷彗星
- 哈雷彗星 (Hāléi huìxīng)comet
Dutch komeet Halley
- komeet Halleycomet
Estonian Halley komeet
- Halley komeetcomet
Finnish Halleyn komeetta
- Halleyn komeettacomet
French comète de Halley
- comète de Halleycomet
German Halleyscher Komet
- Halleyscher Kometcomet
Māori Rongomai
- Rongomaicomet
Polish Kometa Halleya
- Kometa Halleyacomet
Romanian cometa Halley
- cometa Halleycomet
Russian коме́та Галле́я
- коме́та Галле́я (kométa Galléja)comet
Spanish cometa Halley
- cometa Halleycomet
Cite this entry
Halley's Comet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Halley's%20Comet
“Halley's Comet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Halley's%20Comet. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Halley's Comet,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Halley's%20Comet.
Source: Halley's Comet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.