ˈnebyələ noun
( plural nebu·las -ləz ; or nebu·lae -ˌlē, -ˌlī)
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, mist, cloud; akin to Old English nifol cloudy, dark, Old Saxon neƀal fog, Old High German nebul fog, Old Norse njōl darkness, night, Greek nephelē, nephos cloud, Sanskrit nabhas mist
1.
a. : any of many immense bodies of highly rarefied gas or dust in the interstellar space of our own Milky Way and other galaxies that when located in our own Milky Way may by absorption of light from objects farther away be observed as a dark cloud or may by reflection or reemission of light from associated nearby stars be observed as a bright cloud
b. : galaxy ; specifically : a galaxy outside the Milky Way galaxy — see planetary nebula , spiral nebula
2. : a white spot or a slight opacity of the cornea
3. : a liquid preparation intended for medicinal spraying