star
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /stɑː(ɹ)/
enpr: stär
ipa: /stɑɹ/
ipa: /staː(ɹ)/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
Forms: form: stars
form: starring
form: starred
form: starred
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”).
Senses: examples: text: She starred in dozens of silent movies.
text: I was inundated with invitations; […] I felt, indeed, much as a great actor must when he goes 'starring' in the provinces.
ref: 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
glosses: To appear as a featured performer or headliner, especially in an entertainment program.
examples: text: The show stars Calista Flockhart as a high-powered lawyer.
text: "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.
ref: 2004, David W. Menefee, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, page 4:
glosses: To feature (a performer or a headliner), especially in a movie or an entertainment program.
glosses: To mark with a star or asterisk.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1745, [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, page 314:
glosses: To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle.
glosses: To shine like a star.
Synonyms: sense: to mark with an asterisk
word: asterisk
Related terms: astronomy
black hole
galaxy
moon
mullet
planet