Star — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Origin & Etymology of Star

Middle English sterre, stere "star, planet, constellation," going back to Old English steorra (Northumbrian stearra), masculine weak noun, going back to a Germanic n-stem paradigm *sterōn (nominative), *sterraz (genitive), going back to pre-Germanic *h2stér-ōn, *h2ster-n-ós (whence also Old Frisian stēra "star," Old Saxon & Old High German sterro, Middle Dutch sterre, and, with reintroduction of *-rn- from oblique forms with presumed initial stress, Middle Dutch sterne "star," Old High German sterno, Old Icelandic stjarna, Gothic stairno), going back to Indo-European *h2ster- "star," whence, with varying thematizations, Old Irish ser "star" (attested once), Welsh sêr "stars" (singular seren), Old Breton sterenn "star," Greek aster-, astḗr "star (usually in reference to a particular heavenly body)," ástra "stars" (with a secondary singular ástron), Tocharian A śreñ "stars," Tocharian B ścirye "star," Sanskrit stār- (nominative plural tā́raḥ, instrumental plural stṛ́bhiḥ), Avestan star-, Hittite ḫašter-; with a suffixal -l- Latin stēlla "star, heavenly body" (perhaps < *stēr(e)lā), Armenian astł (perhaps < *h2stēr-l-)

First known use: before 12th century