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star

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "star"

English

Etymology

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, stella, étoile, and estoile.

Cognates

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

Pronunciation

Noun

star (plural stars)

  1. Any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.
    He loved watching the stars in the sky with her.
    1. (astrology, typically in the plural) A planet thought to influence one's fate; (figuratively) fate or luck.
      What's in the stars for you today? Find out in our horoscope.
      star-crossed (meaning 'ill-fated')
  3. (astronomy) A very massive ball of plasma with strong enough gravity to have ongoing fusion of hydrogen or heavier elements in its core. In strict technical usage, the Sun is included.
  4. senses derived from the apparent shape of a star in the sky when blurred by the eyes to have streaks
    1. A shape made of a few streaks meeting at a shared midpoint.
      1. (printing) An asterisk (*) or comparable symbol (e.g., ★, ☆, ✶, ✦, ✧, ✷, ✪, ⭐) inspired by a celestial star.
        • 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.
      2. (networking, figurative in origin) A network topology with multiple computers individually merging to one central switch, thus free of risk of collisions. A single point of failure can occur if the switch experiences corruption.
      3. 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.
    2. (shapes, geometry) A concave polygon with regular, pointy protrusions and indentations, usually with four, five, or six points.
      1. A star-shaped ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honour in a military. Now often used metonymically for military rankings.
        three-star general
      2. A symbol used to rate hotels, films, etc. with a higher number of stars denoting better quality.
        • 2025 August 25, Kelefa Sanneh, “How Music Criticism Lost Its Edge”, in The New Yorker‎, →ISSN:
          And the first music review I remember reading was in Rolling Stone, which rated albums on a scale of one to five stars, or so I thought. In 1990, the début solo album by Andrew Ridgeley, who had sung alongside George Michael in the pop duo Wham!, was awarded only half a star.
  5. senses relating to fame
    1. (acting) An actor in a leading role.
      Many Hollywood stars attended the launch party.
    2. An exceptionally talented or famous person, often in a specific field; a celebrity.
      His teacher tells us he is a star pupil.
      I met my favourite star at the public event.
      • 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, 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.
    3. (figurative) (Someone's) success or fame.
      someone's star is rising / has risen
      • 2019 September 17, Edward Snowden, Permanent Record, New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN:
        It’s only in hindsight that I’m able to appreciate just how high my star had risen. I’d gone from being the student who couldn’t speak in class to being the teacher of the language of a new age, from the child of modest, middle-class Beltway parents to the man living the island life and making so much money that it had lost its meaning.
  6. (Jamaica, MLE, African-American Vernacular, by extension) A friend, a mate, a pal.
    • 2003, Michael Maynard, Games Men Play, page 127:
      "Wha'ppen, star!" Hector said, grinning to reveal a gold-capped tooth. He told everyone it was solid twenty-four carat, but if it was, he would have wrenched it out with pliers to pawn to the highest bidder by now.
    • 2003, “Soap Bar”, in The Manifesto‎, performed by Goldie Looking Chain:
      Hello claat, what you doing spar? […] It's got three ring tones, that's the name for the ring. There's this one, right (ring tone sounds). That's fucking safe, spar. But mostly, I bought it for this, check this one out, claat!
    • 2017, Les Back, New Ethnicities and Urban Culture: Racisms and Multiculture in Young Lives‎:
      Switches character to the street-wise Ragamuffin, speaking out of the corner of his mouth in Creole: "Whappen now star! Seckle, seckle now people! Cool, cool na baass! [what is happening friends? Settle down]
    • 2022, Moses McKenzie, An Olive Grove in Ends‎:
      'Dey ain't mine,' Stacey snapped, flicking her head towards the yutes in the bedroom. 'I'm juss lookin after dem fi mi fren dem. I only av six pickney by tree men enuh, star.'
  7. A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.

Usage notes

  • In traditional use, the planets are stars but the sun is not; in astronomy, the sun is a star but the planets are not (and the Earth is counted among the planets).

Synonyms

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Sranan Tongo: stari
    • Aukan: sitali
  • → Finnish: stara
  • → French: star
  • → German: Star
  • → Italian: star
  • → Swahili: staa

Translations

See star/translations § Noun.

See also

Verb

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

  1. (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.
  2. (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.
  3. (transitive) To mark with a star or asterisk.
  4. (transitive) To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle.
  5. (intransitive) To shine like a star.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

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Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch star, from Old Dutch *star, from Proto-West Germanic *star, from Proto-Germanic *staraz.

Pronunciation

Adjective

star (comparative starder, superlative starst)

  1. stiff, frozen
  2. rigid

Declension

More information Declension of, uninflected ...

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “star” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]
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French

Etymology

Borrowed from English star. Doublet of aster.

Pronunciation

Noun

star f (plural stars)

  1. star (celebrity)
    Elle est devenue star. ― She's become a star.

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English star.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈstar/
  • Rhymes: -ar
  • Hyphenation: stàr

Noun

star f (invariable)

  1. star (celebrity)
    Synonyms: celebrità, divo
    star del cinema ― movie star
  2. (mathematics) asterisk, pronunciation of * symbol
    Near-synonym: asterisco

Anagrams

Jamaican Creole

Noun

star (plural star dem, quantified star)

  1. A friend, a mate, a pal
    • 2008 August 26, “Kill Dem” (track 9), in Most Wanted‎, performed by Vybz Kartel:
      Me full ah gun pon di Gaza. Run some boy file and find out dem a barber. Jah know star, what dem ah try?
      I empty a gun on the Gaza. I run some boy's file and find out they're a barber. God knows mate, what are they trying to do?
    • 2009, “Whe Dem A Go Run Go”‎performed by Vybz Kartel, 01:58-02:01:
      Whe dem a go run go, Whe dem a go run go star? Start way dem caan run go far.
      Where are they going to, where are they going to run to friend? They start to go away but they can’t get far (before getting shot).
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Maltese

More information Root ...

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Arabic سِتَار (sitār).

Pronunciation

Noun

star m (plural stari)

  1. veil
    Synonym: (commoner) velu

Middle English

Noun

star

  1. alternative form of sterre

Mirandese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin stāre.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈs̺taɾ/ [ˈs̺t̪aɾ]
  • Rhymes: -aɾ
  • Syllabification: star

Verb

star (first-person singular present stou, first-person singular preterite stube, past participle stado)

  1. to be (indicates a temporary state)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of star (irregular)
More information infinitive, gerund ...

See also

  • ser (“to be”) (indicates a permanent quality)

References

  • Moisés, Pires (2004), “star”, in Pequeno vocabulário Mirandês-Português [Small Mirandese-Portuguese Vocabulary], 2nd edition, Miranda do Douro: Câmara Municipal de Miranda do Douro, published 2019, →ISBN, page 493.
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Northern Kurdish

Etymology

Akin to Central Kurdish ستار (star, “retire, retreat, take refuge”), originally a descendant of Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- but now conflated with Arabic سِتَار (sitār), hence the second sense. Proposed to be the name of an ancient deity by some based on the common expression "Ya Star!" ("O Star!", said to ask God for endurance and strength).

Noun

star f

  1. standing, the ability to stand or stay at one's place, strength, energy; not worrying or being bored, calmness.
  2. protection, coverage

Synonyms

  • (the ability to stand, strength of legs, energy): qidûm

Derived terms

  • star kirin ("to protect")
  • star lê hatin ("to find the strength to, to find the courage to")
  • stargeh ("refuge")
  • sitirîn ("to calm down, to mellow down, to stay put")

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Noun

star m (definite singular staren, indefinite plural starar, definite plural starane)

  1. alternative form of stare

Noun

star m (definite singular staren, indefinite plural starar, definite plural starane)

  1. (pre-2012) alternative form of stær

Portuguese

Verb

star (first-person singular present stou, first-person singular preterite stive, past participle stado)

  1. obsolete spelling of estar

Conjugation

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English star. Doublet of aster and stea.

Noun

star n (plural staruri)

  1. star (famous person)

Declension

More information singular, plural ...

Sabir

Etymology

From Italian stare (“to be”).

Verb

star

  1. to be

References

  • Feissat et Demonchy, Dictionnaire de la Langue Franque, ou Petit Mauresque

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *starъ.

Pronunciation

Adjective

stȁr (Cyrillic spelling ста̏р, definite stȃrī, comparative stàrijī)

  1. old
    Antonym: mlȃd

Declension

More information singular, masculine ...
More information singular, masculine ...
More information singular, masculine ...
More information singular, masculine ...

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “star”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
  • “star”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *starъ.

Pronunciation

Adjective

stȁr (comparative starȇjši, superlative nȁjstarȇjši)

  1. old, aged
    Antonym: mlad
    Star sem dvajset let. ― I'm twenty years old.

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
More information Hard, masculine ...

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “star”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
  • “star”, in Termania, Amebis
  • See also the general references

Venetan

Etymology

From Latin stāre. Compare Italian stare.

Verb

star

  1. (transitive) to stay or remain
  2. (transitive) to live (somewhere)

Conjugation

* Venetan conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of star (first conjugation)
More information infinitive, auxiliary verb ...

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