astronaut

Definitions

Greek astron (star) + nautēs (sailor) = 'star sailor.' Coined in the 1920s-30s on the model of aeronaut, it imagines space as an ocean and the spaceship as a vessel crossing it.

Why It Means This

Astronaut literally calls space travelers 'star sailors' — a poetic leftover from an age when every new frontier was framed as a sea to be sailed. The Soviet word cosmonaut keeps the -naut 'sailor' ending but swaps star for kosmos ('universe').

Common Collocations

• 1.astronaut training宇航员训练
• 2.veteran astronaut资深宇航员
• 3.become an astronaut成为宇航员

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The astronaut spent six months aboard the space station.

• 2.

  Becoming an astronaut requires years of grueling training.

• 3.

  Children watched in awe as the astronauts walked on the moon.

Synonym Comparison