<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way#Etymology_and_mythology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Milky way</a> obviously is an English word with that literal meaning a way (path) covered in milk. So it's not exactly derived. But it is a literal translation from Latin 'via lactia' and the Greek γαλακτικός κύκλος (milky circle - galaktikos kýklos, hence the word Galaxy). It resembles our own Galaxy's appearance on the night sky as a diffuse, slightly milky band accross the sky was seen. There are different mythologies as to why, but one story has it that the Milky Way was formed after the trickster god Hermes suckled the infant Heracles at the breast of Hera, the queen of the gods, while she was asleep. When Hera awoke, she tore Heracles away from her breast and splattered her breast milk across the heavens (e.g. see <a href="https://books.google.de/books?id=YJawuz5Q1vEC&amp;pg=PA44&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>).</p>
<p>The Greeks might have gotten their idea that the milky way consists of milk from the ancient Egypts who considered the milky way a puddle of cow milk.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way_(mythology)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">e.g. see abridged here</a></p>
<p>Back before artificial light the milky way was MUCH more promenently visible despite its average low area brightness, as the artificial light was MUCh less and the light pollution virtually non-existent, thus its visibility came to much better attention to everyone living then.</p>
<p>As to stellar sizes ranking, I'd like to refer you to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_stars" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this list</a> for a radius-ranking and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_massive_stars" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this one</a> for a mass-ranking. Take both with a grain of salt and mind that it also lists stars outside of the milky way.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-15T07:28:06.083Z
2021-06-15T18:17:53.667Z
2021-06-15T18:17:53.667Z
planetmaker
<p>From which language is the term milky way is derived and what is the largest star located in it?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-15T11:03:53.540Z
FWIW: UY Scuti is the biggest star in the biggest star in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Nilay Ghosh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-15T12:57:55.150Z
What preliminary research have you done to try and solve your problem?
WarpPrime
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-15T17:07:49.913Z
[Milky Way](https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/astronomy/the-milky-way-galaxy2#:~:text=The%20Milky%20Way%20gets%20its,the%20%E2%80%9CBackbone%20of%20Night.%E2%80%9D) and [Brightest Star in MW](https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question21.html)

I am voting to close this question due to lack of preliminary research.
Aryan Bansal
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-15T18:14:54.863Z
Some cultures call it something more like "silver river," "straw path," or "birds' path." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_for_the_Milky_Way
Mike G
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-15T23:51:47.497Z
@AryanBansal lack of research is not a close reason. Briefly, they are: Duplicate, Off-topic, Details or clarity, Focus, and Opinion-based. Lack of preliminary research is a reason for down-voting, but closing blocks all users from posting answers and all future readers from reading them. It "punishes" everybody, not just the question-asker.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-16T02:18:20.763Z
@uhoh Lack of research most certainly is a reason. Anything can be used a reason, so long as enough other people agree to vote to close in concurrence. It's how this and all other SE network sites work. Every site has "A community-specific reason" as a choice, which leads to a secondary menu, and from there, one can choose "Other" and fill in the reason.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-16T02:48:38.930Z
@DavidHammen one can drive *anywhere* on a road, that doesn't mean one can run around saying "we can drive anywhere on a road want to, as long as there's five of us". Roads have lanes to keep things from descending into chaos. Close reasons do as well. SE has norms and practices that have evolved over a decade and through millions of posts and interactions. I know it is tempting to think "SE should be the way I think is best" but if everybody did that, the site would descend into the same chaos that much of the internet has become. Lanes, norms, practices, these are good things.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-16T05:27:01.317Z
I’m voting to close this question because it's low quality due to lack of preliminary research and cannot be improved, and also because it's off-topic since it's about the etymology of a name in a specific language rather than being about astronomy.
Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
<milky-way><galaxy-center><definition>
Why is the Milky Way called like that?
marksmile
# Why is the Milky Way called like that?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-06-15)

From which language is the term milky way is derived and what is the largest star located in it?

**Tags:** milky-way, galaxy-center, definition

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: FWIW: UY Scuti is the biggest star in the biggest star in the Milky Way Galaxy.  
> **username_2**: What preliminary research have you done to try and solve your problem?  
> **username_3**: [Milky Way](https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/astronomy/the-milky-way-galaxy2#:~:text=The%20Milky%20Way%20gets%20its,the%20%E2%80%9CBackbone%20of%20Night.%E2%80%9D) and [Brightest Star in MW](https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question21.html)  I am voting to close this question due to lack of preliminary research.  
> **username_4**: Some cultures call it something more like "silver river," "straw path," or "birds' path." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_for_the_Milky_Way  
> **username_5**: @AryanBansal lack of research is not a close reason. Briefly, they are: Duplicate, Off-topic, Details or clarity, Focus, and Opinion-based. Lack of preliminary research is a reason for down-voting, but closing blocks all users from posting answers and all future readers from reading them. It "punishes" everybody, not just the question-asker.  
> **username_6**: @username_5 Lack of research most certainly is a reason. Anything can be used a reason, so long as enough other people agree to vote to close in concurrence. It's how this and all other SE network sites work. Every site has "A community-specific reason" as a choice, which leads to a secondary menu, and from there, one can choose "Other" and fill in the reason.  
> **username_5**: @DavidHammen one can drive *anywhere* on a road, that doesn't mean one can run around saying "we can drive anywhere on a road want to, as long as there's five of us". Roads have lanes to keep things from descending into chaos. Close reasons do as well. SE has norms and practices that have evolved over a decade and through millions of posts and interactions. I know it is tempting to think "SE should be the way I think is best" but if everybody did that, the site would descend into the same chaos that much of the internet has become. Lanes, norms, practices, these are good things.  
> **username_7**: I’m voting to close this question because it's low quality due to lack of preliminary research and cannot be improved, and also because it's off-topic since it's about the etymology of a name in a specific language rather than being about astronomy.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2021-06-15. Score: 4

[Milky way](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way#Etymology_and_mythology) obviously is an English word with that literal meaning a way (path) covered in milk. So it's not exactly derived. But it is a literal translation from Latin 'via lactia' and the Greek γαλακτικός κύκλος (milky circle - galaktikos kýklos, hence the word Galaxy). It resembles our own Galaxy's appearance on the night sky as a diffuse, slightly milky band accross the sky was seen. There are different mythologies as to why, but one story has it that the Milky Way was formed after the trickster god Hermes suckled the infant Heracles at the breast of Hera, the queen of the gods, while she was asleep. When Hera awoke, she tore Heracles away from her breast and splattered her breast milk across the heavens (e.g. see [here](https://books.google.de/books?id=YJawuz5Q1vEC&pg=PA44&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)).

The Greeks might have gotten their idea that the milky way consists of milk from the ancient Egypts who considered the milky way a puddle of cow milk.[e.g. see abridged here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way_(mythology))

Back before artificial light the milky way was MUCH more promenently visible despite its average low area brightness, as the artificial light was MUCh less and the light pollution virtually non-existent, thus its visibility came to much better attention to everyone living then.

As to stellar sizes ranking, I'd like to refer you to [this list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_stars) for a radius-ranking and [this one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_massive_stars) for a mass-ranking. Take both with a grain of salt and mind that it also lists stars outside of the milky way.


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