n.
Pronunciation: ' kä-m ə t
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English comete, from Old English cometa, from Latin, from Greek kom ē t ē s, literally, long-haired, from koman to wear longitude hair, from kom ē hair
Date: before 12th century
: a celestial body that appears as a fuzzy head usually surrounding a bright nucleus, that has a usually highly eccentric orbit, that consists primarily of ice and dust, and that often develops one or more long tails when near the sun
– com · e · tary \ -m ə - ˌ ter- ē \ adjective
– co · met · ic \ k ə - ' me-tik, kä- \ adjective