asterism
Pronunciation: /ˈas.təˌɹɪz.əm/
The English word “asterism” has 3 meanings listed here.
noun
- An unofficial constellation (small group of stars that forms a visible pattern).
- A rarely used typographical symbol of three asterisks arranged in a triangle, ⁂, used to call attention to a passage or to separate subchapters in a book. Distinct from a dinkus which also uses asterisks to separate.
- A star-shaped figure exhibited by some crystals by reflected light (as in a star sapphire) or by transmitted light (as in some mica).
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀστερισμός (asterismós, “a group of stars”), from ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”). Analyzable as aster- + -ism.
Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “asterism” there
More English words
About this dictionary
The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.
Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.