astronomy Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole
    uranology.

WordNet

As*tron"o*my noun
Etymology
OE. astronomie, F. astronomie, L. astronomia, fr. Gr. , fr. astronomer; star + to distribute, regulate. See Star, and Nomad.
Definitions
  1. Astrology. Obs.
    Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck; And yet methinks I have astronomy. Shak.
  2. The science which treats of the celestial bodies, of their magnitudes, motions, distances, periods of revolution, eclipses, constitution, physical condition, and of the causes of their various phenomena.
  3. A treatise on, or text-book of, the science.

Webster 1913