asterisk.
A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star.
Meaning & usage
A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star.
A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star. The star-shaped symbol *, which is used in printing and writing for various purposes, including to refer a reader to a note at the bottom of a page or in a margin, and to indicate the omission of letters or words; a star.
A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star. The star-shaped symbol *, which is used in printing and writing for various purposes, including to refer a reader to a note at the bottom of a page or in a margin, and to indicate the omission of letters or words; a star. Something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol.
A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star. The star-shaped symbol *, which is used in printing and writing for various purposes, including to refer a reader to a note at the bottom of a page or in a margin, and to indicate the omission of letters or words; a star. Something which is of little importance or which is marginal; a footnote.
A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star. The star-shaped symbol *, which is used in printing and writing for various purposes, including to refer a reader to a note at the bottom of a page or in a margin, and to indicate the omission of letters or words; a star. A blemish in an otherwise outstanding achievement.
They came into the tournament highly ranked, but with a little bit of an asterisk as their last two wins had been unconvincing.
A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star. An instrument with radiating arms resembling a star which is placed over the diskos (or paten) used during the Eucharist to prevent the veil covering the chalice and diskos from touching the host on the diskos.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr Proto-Hellenic *astḗr Ancient Greek ᾰ̓στήρ (ăstḗr) Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Ancient Greek -ῐ́σκος (-ĭ́skos) Ancient Greek ἀστερῐ́σκος (asterĭ́skos)bor. Late Latin asteriscusder. Middle English asterisk English asterisk 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. Noun sense 1.1.2 (“something which is of little importance or which is marginal”) refers to the use of an asterisk to denote a footnote or marginal note in a text; in other words, information that is not important enough to be incorporated into the main text. Noun sense 1.1.3 (“blemish in an otherwise outstanding achievement”) refers to the use of an asterisk in a sporting record to indicate that the record is qualified in some manner (for example, that the sportsperson was found to have taken performance-enhancing drugs at the time). The verb is derived from the noun.
To mark or replace (text, etc.) with an asterisk symbol (*; noun sense 1.1); to star.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr Proto-Hellenic *astḗr Ancient Greek ᾰ̓στήρ (ăstḗr) Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Ancient Greek -ῐ́σκος (-ĭ́skos) Ancient Greek ἀστερῐ́σκος (asterĭ́skos)bor. Late Latin asteriscusder. Middle English asterisk English asterisk 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. Noun sense 1.1.2 (“something which is of little importance or which is marginal”) refers to the use of an asterisk to denote a footnote or marginal note in a text; in other words, information that is not important enough to be incorporated into the main text. Noun sense 1.1.3 (“blemish in an otherwise outstanding achievement”) refers to the use of an asterisk in a sporting record to indicate that the record is qualified in some manner (for example, that the sportsperson was found to have taken performance-enhancing drugs at the time). The verb is derived from the noun.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.