HOW TO PRONOUNCE
messier
/ˈmɛsiɚ/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:31
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What does messier mean?
adjective
- comparative form of messy: more messy
proper noun
- A surname from French [in turn originating as an occupation], famously held by
- Charles Messier (1730-1817), a French astronomer who between 1774 and 1781 published his Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters, a catalogue of deep-sky objects.
More meanings (1)
proper noun
- As a designation, the numbered objects in Messier's catalog are prepended with his surname or the letter M.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈmɛsiɚ/
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
On the platform of the octagonal tower of the Hotel de Cluny, the little shed of boards, which had served as an observatory to Messier, the naval astronomer under Louis XVI., was still to be seen.
Lumps of sun-dried, or partially burnt clay, used as plastering on the houses of the Mound Builders, gave rise to a sensational account of a wall of sun-dried bricks two feet thick, supporting the mound on the northern side.39 The famous Messier Mound, in Georgia, is said to reach a height of ninety-five feet.
More book examples (1)
It is the view that because we have got into a mess we must grow messier to suit it; that because we have taken a wrong turn some time ago we must go forward and not backwards; that because we have lost our way we must lose our map also; and because we have missed our ideal, we must forget it.