Agency Dictionary

Cosmonaut

noun

In Portuguese: Cosmonauta

Science & Health

What does “Cosmonaut” mean?

A space traveler trained and certified by the Russian or Soviet space agency. It is often used figuratively to denote an intrepid explorer venturing into uncharted conceptual or scientific territory.

Etymology

From Russian kosmonavt, built from Greek kosmos, "order, world, universe", and nautes, "sailor", on the pattern of older words such as aeronaut. English took the word in the 1950s, at the start of the space age, and kept it for space travellers of the Soviet and later the Russian programme, while astronaut, with Greek astron, "star", served for the American one.

Usage note

The choice between cosmonaut and astronaut follows the space programme, not the job: crews trained by Russia are cosmonauts even when they fly beside astronauts.

Synonyms

astronaut
spaceman
space traveller

Often confused with

astronaut: Astronaut is the general word and the one used for American, European and most other crews; cosmonaut is reserved for those of the Soviet and Russian programmes.

Word family

cosmonautics
cosmonautic
cosmos
cosmic

Usage examples

Stick around cosmonaut.
Design.2 - Demystifying UX/UI Design Pt.1

Source editions

Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.

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