COMET

noun Etymology: Middle English ~e, from Old English ~a, from Latin, from Greek komētēs, literally, long-haired, from koman to wear long hair, from komē 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, ~ary adjective ~ic adjective