cosmonaut

Definition

An astronaut, especially a Russian or Soviet one.

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian космона́вт (kosmonávt), from Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos, “universe”) + ναύτης (naútēs, “sailor”), may be decomposed as cosmo- + -naut.

Example Sentences

• "Khrushchev’s answer came 60 years ago, on April 12, 1961, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin circled the Earth aboard a spacecraft called Vostok 1."
• "Longtime NASA astronaut Don Pettit, who has ventured to space four times, returned to Earth on Saturday night from the International Space Station. Pettit, who turned 70 on Sunday, landed at 9:20 p.m. ET in a Soyuz spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, after a seven-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory."

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