Earth & SkyGreek → English
Asterism
/ˈæstərɪzəm/noun
A recognisable pattern of stars that is not itself one of the official constellations.
The Greek roots
ἀστήρ
astḗr
star
Literally: “a starring”
Follow a root:ἀστήρ4 words
The story of the word
The Plough is an asterism, seven stars inside the much larger constellation Ursa Major, and the same goes for the Summer Triangle, which borrows from three constellations at once. Two other trades took the word: printers use it for the three-asterisk mark ⁂ that separates sections, and gemmologists for the six-rayed star that floats in a cut sapphire. Behind all of them is ἀστήρ, which also lurks in disaster, literally a bad star.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
asteriskastronomydisasterastral
In a sentence
Everyone can find the Plough, which is an asterism rather than a constellation.
Strong asterism in a star ruby needs a well-judged cabochon cut.