Comet
WordNet
noun
(1) (astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
WiktionaryText
English
Etymology
From comete (French: comète), from , from , referring to the tail of a comet, from .
Noun
- A celestial body consisting mainly of ice, dust and gas in an (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.
- A celestial phenomenon with the appearance given by the orbiting celestial body.