Added 9 October 2026
asterisk
/ˈæstəɹɪsk/ noun
In Latin: asterīscus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about asterisk at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A star-shaped character * used in printing.
verb
-
Mark with an asterisk.
Linguists star unacceptable sentences
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English asterisk [and other forms], from Late Latin asteriscus (“asterisk; small star”), from Ancient Greek ἀστερῐ́σκος (asterĭ́skos, “asterisk; small star”), from ᾰ̓στήρ (ăstḗr, “celestial body (star, planet, and other lights in the sky such as meteors)”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- (“to burn; to glow”)) + -ῐ́σκος (-ĭ́skos, diminutive suffix). Doublet of asteriscus and piecewise doublet of starrish.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)