star

See also: Star, stár, står, Stär, śtar, and štar

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:

star

Wikipedia

Stars (1, 2).

A star shape (3).

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster.

cognates

Cognate with Scots starn, ster, North Frisian steer, West Frisian stjer, Saterland Frisian Stiern, Dutch ster, Luxembourgish Stär, German Stern, Yiddish שטערן‎ (shtern), Vilamovian śtaom, Swedish stjärna, Norwegian stjerne, Icelandic stjarna, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō), Spanish estrella, Portuguese estrela, Italian stella, Romanian stea, Occitan estela, Venetian stéła, Sicilian stidda, Sardinian isteddu, Mirandese streilha, Walloon sitoele, Romansch staila, Megleno-Romanian steau̯ă, Istriot stila, Istro-Romanian ste, Latin stēlla, Greek αστέρι (astéri), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr), Old Armenian աստղ (astł), Persian ‎ (setâre), Tajik ситора (sitora), Pashto ستوری‎ (storay), Mazanderani اساره‎ (ëssâre), Northern Kurdish stêr, Central Kurdish ئەستێرە‎ (estêre), Zazaki astare, Ossetian стъалы (st’aly), Hindi तारा (tārā), Urdu تارا‎ (tārā), Punjabi ਤਾਰਾ (tārā), Gujarati તારો (tāro), Sanskrit तारा (tārā).

Pronunciation[edit]

(UK) IPA^(key): /stɑː(ɹ)/
- Audio (UK)
  (file)
(US) enPR: stär, IPA^(key): /stɑɹ/
- Audio (US)
  (file)
Audio
(file)
Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)

Noun[edit]

star (plural stars)

Any small luminous dot appearing in the cloudless portion of the night sky, especially with a fixed location relative to other such dots.
(astronomy) A luminous celestial body, made up of plasma (particularly hydrogen and helium) and having a spherical shape. Depending on context the sun may or may not be included.
(geometry) A concave polygon with regular, pointy protrusions and indentations, generally with five or six points.
(acting) An actor in a leading role.
Many Hollywood stars attended the launch party.
An exceptionally talented or famous person, often in a specific field; a celebrity.
His teacher tells us he is a star pupil.
- 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart; Avery Hopwood, “The Shadow of the Bat”, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, OCLC 20230794, page 8:
  Star reporter, leg-man, cub, veteran gray in the trade—one and all they tried to pin the Bat like a caught butterfly to the front page of their respective journals—soon or late each gave up, beaten. He was news— […] —the brief, staccato recital of his career in the morgues of the great dailies grew longer and more incredible each day.
(printing) An asterisk (*) or symbol (★).
- 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:
  Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.
A symbol used to rate hotels, films, etc. with a higher number of stars denoting better quality.
A simple dance, or part of a dance, where a group of four dancers each put their right or left hand in the middle and turn around in a circle. You call them right-hand stars or left-hand stars, depending on the hand which is in the middle.
(astrology) A planet supposed to influence one's destiny.
What's in the stars for you today? Find out in our horoscope.
- 1591, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene v], page 112, column 2:
  But O malignant and ill-boading Starres, […]
- 1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], OCLC 230694662:
  
  Men bless their stars and call it luxury.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698, pages 69–70:
  But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, […] . By the time we reached the house we were thanking our stars she had come.
A star-shaped ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honour.
- 1855, Alfred Tennyson, “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], OCLC 1013215631, stanza 8, page 132:
  […] on whom […] / Lavish Honour shower’d all her stars, […]
A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.

Synonyms[edit]

aster (obsolete)
(astronomy): * (abbreviation), sun

Hypernyms[edit]

(astronomy): celestial body

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

→ French: star
→ German: Star
→ Italian: star

Translations[edit]

See star/translations § Noun.

Verb[edit]

star (third-person singular simple present stars, present participle starring, simple past and past participle starred)

(intransitive) To appear as a featured performer or headliner, especially in an entertainment program.
She starred in dozens of silent movies.
- 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major
  I was inundated with invitations; […] I felt, indeed, much as a great actor must when he goes 'starring' in the provinces.
(transitive) To feature (a performer or a headliner), especially in a movie or an entertainment program.
The show stars Calista Flockhart as a high-powered lawyer.
- 2004, David W. Menefee, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, page 4:
  "What followed this decision was exactly what we had expected: Mr. Fox, realizing that the public was tiring of Theda Bara in vampire roles, announced that he would star her in a production of Romeo and Juliet," she illustrated.
(transitive) To mark with a star or asterisk.
(transitive) To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle.
- 1742, [Edward Young], “Night the Ninth and Last. The Consolation. Containing, among Other Things, I. A Moral Survey of the Nocturnal Heavens. II. A Night-Address to the Deity. […]”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, London: […] [Samuel Richardson] for A[ndrew] Millar […], and R[obert] Dodsley […], published 1750, OCLC 753424981, page 314:
  Thy gloomy Grandeurs (Nature's moſt auguſt, / Inſpiring Aſpect!) claim a grateful Verſe; / And, like a ſable Curtain ſtarr'd with Gold, / Drawn o'er my Labours paſt, ſhall cloſe the Scene.
(intransitive) To shine like a star.

Synonyms[edit]

(to mark with an asterisk): asterisk

Translations[edit]

to appear as a featured performer or headliner

Bulgarian: играя главна роля (igraja glavna rolja)
Coptic: ⲥⲓⲟⲩ (siou)
Esperanto: ĉefroli
Finnish: esittää pääosaa, tähdittää (fi)
French: tenir le rôle principal
Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} tener le rolo principal
Italian: avere il ruolo principale, avere il ruolo da protagonista

Japanese: 主演する (ja) (しゅえんする, shuen suru)
Northern Ohlone: 'ósé
Portuguese: estrelar, protagonizar
Spanish: estelarizar, protagonizar (es)
Telugu: నక్షత్రం (te) (nakṣatraṁ)
Welsh: serennu (cy)

Anagrams[edit]

'rats, RAST, RATs, RTAs, TSRA, arts, arts., rats, sart, tars, tsar