asterisk

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈæstəˌrɪsk/ UK /ˈæstərɪsk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a star-shaped symbol (*) used to mark a note or omission

A small asterisk directed the reader to the footnote below.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a star-shaped symbol (*)... star markstar sign

Word family

Derived forms asterisked

Related forms asterismasterastral asteroid astronomy

Simplified etymology

Asterisk entered late Middle English from Greek asteriskos, meaning “little star.” That word derives from Greek astēr, “star,” an ancient relative of Latin stella and English star.

Etymology

From Late Latin asteriscus, from Ancient Greek asterískos ('little star'), diminutive of astḗr ('star').

asterískos Ancient Greek astḗr Ancient Greek *h₂stḗr Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# asterisk

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈæstəˌrɪsk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæstərɪsk/

## Meanings
1. a star-shaped symbol (*) used to mark a note or omission

## Examples
- A small asterisk directed the reader to the footnote below.

## Synonyms
- star
- mark
- star sign

## Derived Forms
- asterisked

## Related Forms
- asterism
- aster
- astral
- asteroid
- astronomy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: asterískos
- Root: astḗr
- Root: *h₂stḗr

## Etymology
From Late Latin asteriscus, from Ancient Greek asterískos ('little star'), diminutive of astḗr ('star').

## AI Etymology
asterisk comes from Late Latin asteriscus, from Ancient Greek asterískos ('little star'), diminutive of astḗr ('star'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the noun sense is "a star-shaped symbol (*) used to mark a note or omission", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as asterism, aster, astral, asteroid and derivatives such as asterisked, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Ancient Greek asterískos, Ancient Greek astḗr, Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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