An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. Of, relating to, or named from, Ferdinand Magellan (see below).
   

   2. Of or pertaining to characteristic of the → Magellanic Clouds.

See also: Named in honor of Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521), the Portuguese navigator, who undertook the first voyage around the world. The two Clouds were first described by Magellan’s chronicler Pigafetta, after leaving the Strait of Magellan in 1520; → -ic.