asterisk

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2010 is: asterisk • \ASS-tuh-risk\  • noun : the character * used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words, to denote a hypothetical or unattested linguistic form, or for various arbitrary meanings Examples: Words in the text that are defined in the glossary are marked with an asterisk for quick reference. Did you know? If someone asked you to associate the word "asterisk" with a heavenly body, you would probably have no problem relating it to a star -- even if you didn't know that the word "asterisk" derives from "asteriskos," a Greek word meaning "little star." "Asterisk" has been a part of the constellation of English since at least the late 1300s, but it is far from the only shining star in our language. The Greek forms "astēr," "astro," and "astrum" (all of which mean "star") still cast their light in English by way of such words as "asteroid," "astral," and "disaster" (which originally meant "an unfavorable aspect of a planet or star"). Even "star" itself is a distant relative of "asterisk." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.