vela

V4E1L1A1
UK/ˈviːlə/US/ˈvilə/

proper noun

A spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble the sails of a ship. Until 1763, it was part of a larger constellation, Argo Navis.

OriginLatin vēla →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

vela1

noun
  1. pluralplural of velum

Vela2

proper noun
  1. astronomyA spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble the sails of a ship. Until 1763, it was part of a larger constellation, Argo Navis.

Origin

  1. Latinvēla“sails of a ship”
  2. EnglishVela

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin vēla (“sails of a ship”), plural of vēlum. Doublet of veil.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans Seile
  • Seileconstellation
Arabic الشراع
  • الشراعconstellation
Bengali ভেলা মণ্ডল
  • ভেলা মণ্ডল (bhela monḍol)constellation
Bulgarian Корабни платна
  • Корабни платна (Korabni platna)constellation
Chinese Cantonese 船帆座
  • 船帆座 (syun⁴ faan⁴ zo⁶)constellation
Chinese Mandarin 船帆座
  • 船帆座 (Chuánfānzuò)constellation
Czech Plachty
  • Plachtyconstellation
Danish Sejlet
  • Sejletconstellation
Esperanto Velaro
  • Velaroconstellation
Estonian Purjed
  • Purjedconstellation
Finnish Purje
  • Purjeconstellation
French Voiles
  • Voilesconstellation
German Segel des Schiffs
  • Segel des Schiffsconstellation
Greek Ιστία
  • Ιστία (Istía)constellation
Hebrew מפרש
  • מפרשconstellation
Hindi पाल
  • पाल (pāl)constellation
Hungarian Vitorla
  • Vitorlaconstellation
Irish na Seolta
  • na Seoltaconstellation
Italian Vele
  • Veleconstellation
Japanese 帆座, ほ座
  • 帆座 (Hoza)constellation
  • ほ座 (Hoza)constellation
Latvian Buras
  • Burasconstellation
Lithuanian Burės
  • Burėsconstellation
Malay Layar
  • Layarconstellation
Norwegian Seilet
  • Seiletconstellation
Persian بادبان
  • بادبان (bâdbân)constellation
Polish Żagiel
  • Żagielconstellation
Romanian Velele
  • Veleleconstellation
Russian Паруса
  • Паруса (Parusa)constellation
Slovak Plachty
  • Plachtyconstellation
Spanish Vela
  • Velaconstellation
Swahili Tanga
  • Tangaconstellation
Swedish Seglet
  • Segletconstellation
Tamil வேலா
  • வேலா (vēlā)constellation
Thai กลุ่มดาวใบเรือ
  • กลุ่มดาวใบเรือconstellation
Ukrainian Вітри́ла
  • Вітри́ла (Vitrýla)constellation
Urdu بادبان
  • بادبانconstellation
Vietnamese Thuyền Phàm
  • Thuyền Phàmconstellation

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with vela

sheilavilacandelatelaNilaLylaCoahuilaSheelastelaTeelasequelasinsemilla
All rhymes →

Anagrams

evalvaleveallevalaveavel
Cite this entry
APA

vela. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vela

MLA

“vela.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vela. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vela,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vela.

Source: vela on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.