also cosmosesˈkäz-mə-səz
[New Latin, genus name, from Greek kosmos]: any of a genus (Cosmos) of tropical American composite herbs
especially: a widely cultivated tall annual (C. bipinnatus) with yellow or red disks and showy ray flowers
Illustration of cosmos
cosmos 3
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Cosmos and the Universe
Cosmos often simply means "universe". But the word is generally used to suggest an orderly or harmonious universe, as it was originally used by Pythagoras in the 6th century B.C. Thus, a religious mystic may help put us in touch with the cosmos, and so may a physicist. The same is often true of the adjective cosmic: Cosmic rays (really particles rather than rays) bombard us from outer space, but cosmic questions come from human attempts to find order in the universe.
the origins of the cosmos
an essay that ponders the place of humankind in the vast cosmos
Recent Examples on the WebThe Cupola is a control center in the ISS with seven portholes that allow astronauts to work while enjoying a 360-degree view of the outside, providing an exceptional observatory for studying the Earth and the entire cosmos.—Massimo Comparini, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2023 Beneath the dipole sit one-part-in-a-million temperature differences, a sign of the first density fluctuations that would grow to dominate the entire cosmos.—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 24 Apr. 2023 Across the entire cosmos, the average density of all the matter is roughly one hydrogen atom per cubic meter.—Paul M. Sutter, Discover Magazine, 23 Nov. 2023 Saar was exhilarated by the worlds that Cornell created in boxes: unapologetically romantic and history-rich cosmoses, where dreams and cultural artifacts and even the stars Cornell loved, ranging from Lauren Bacall to Susan Sontag, were presented as though on a stage.—Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023 See all Example Sentences for cosmos
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cosmos.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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