asterisk
Syllables: as·ter·iskUK/ˈæstəɹɪsk/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
British/ˈastəɹɪsk/
asterisk noun: a small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star.
Noun
asterisk (plural asterisks)
- A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star.
- Add one Ray unto the common Luſtre; add not only to the Number but the Note of thy Generation; and prove not a Cloud but an Aſteriſk in thy Region.c. 1670s (date written), Thomas Brown [i.e., Thomas Browne], “Sect[ion] XXXII”, in John Jeffery, editor, Christian Morals, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] [A]t the University-Press, for Cornelius...
- 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.
- He is in the right to put the Aſteriſks, not the VVords into the text; becauſe They do indeed give us [notice, that there is in Them] as much additional meaning, as there vvould be in thoſe vvords vvhich they ſo properly repreſent.1754, Thomas Edwards, “Canon XVIII. He may Explane His Author, or Any Former Editor of Him; by Supplying Such Words, or Pieces of Words, or Marks, as He Thinks Fit for that Purpose.”, in The Canons...
- I having been looking at your pamphlet, and shewing it, but I mention no names. I don't see the use of names, for my part, unless it be to put in asterisks. It is—yes—very, indeed.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Publishing”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 13
- Something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol.
- Using a crafting knife, cut a small asterisk shape in the center of each black circle. Gently pierce each asterisk with a wooden skewer to make a hole. Once done, simply insert your stove knobs, and you're almost ready!2016, Courtney Sanchez, “Retro Stove”, in DIY Box Creations: Fun and Creative Projects to Make out of Really Big Boxes!, Lake Forest, Calif.: Walter Foster Jr., Quarto Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 48
- Something which is of little importance or which is marginal; a footnote.
- I don't want to be an asterisk in my kids' lives. I don't want to be just some guy who sporadically appears and then disappears again.2016, Charles [Wesley] Marshall, “More SkyMiles, Less Family”, in The Good Dad Guide, Eugene, Or.: Harvest House Publishers, →ISBN, part 6 (Prevent), page 142
- The opposing view sees it as an abject failure and historically irrelevant. This verdict was neatly summed up by the New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin when he predicted, a year on from the event: "It will be an asterisk in the history books, if it gets a mention at all."2021 September 12, Andrew Anthony, “‘We showed it was possible to create a movement from almost nothing’: Occupy Wall Street 10 years on”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian...
- 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.
- 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.
- Then he [the deacon] reverently covereth the holy Cup with the veil. Likewise he placeth the Asterisk upon the holy Diskos, and the veil over it, and saith the following prayer with the Priest, silently, […]1866, John Chrysostom, “Liturgy of the Catechumens”, in [anonymous], transl., Service of the Divine and Sacred Liturgy of Our Holy Father John Chrysostom. […], London: Joseph Masters, […], →OCLC...
- The asterisk is one of the sacred objects used in the Byzantine rite. It is placed on the paten to protect the Eucharistic bread from contact with the special veil that covers it. The name derives from the shape of the object and symbolically recalls the Biblical words: "And the star came and stood...1962, Marvin C. Ross, “Copper”, in Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, volume 1 (Metalwork, Ceramics, Glass, Glyptics, Painting), Washington...
Verb
asterisk (third-person singular simple present asterisks, present participle asterisking, simple past and past participle asterisked)
- To mark or replace (text, etc.) with an asterisk symbol (*; noun sense 1.1); to star.
- Bank of New Zealand Estates Company Share Account now stands, as we have already seen, at £1,089,722 17s. 7d., a reduction of £760,177 2s. 5d. having been effected by the writing off of share capital. But from the point of view of its intrinsic value, the item has still to be dealt with, being...1896 August, The Australasian Insurance, Banking Record, quotees, “The Bank of New Zealand’s Balance Sheet”, in Clement H. Davis, editor, The Bankers’ Magazine of Australasia. An Illustrated Monthly...
- She was determined to make the most of the trip, extracting some cultural capital from the emotional waste, and so read carefully through the Venice guidebooks she had brought, underlining the must-dos and asterisking the should-dos.2003, Rebecca Campbell, “Odette in Venice”, in Slave to Love […], New York, N.Y.: Villard Books, →ISBN, page 95
asterisk meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
asterisk in Hindi
- star-shaped symbol *; something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol
- तारक tārak, सितारा sitārā
asterisk in Tamil
- star-shaped symbol *; something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol
- உடுக்குறி uṭukkuṟi
asterisk in Marathi
- star-shaped symbol *; something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol
- तारकचिह्न tārakcihna, ताराचिह्न tārācihna, चौफुली cauphulī
asterisk in Urdu
- star-shaped symbol *; something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol
- سِتارَہ sitāra
More languagesFewer languages
- asterisk in Telugu
- పూవు pūvu
- asterisk in Malayalam
- നക്ഷത്രചിഹ്നം എന്ന കുറി
- asterisk in Kannada
- ಚುಕ್ಕೆ ಗುರುತು, ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ ಚಿಹ್ನೆ
- asterisk in Punjabi
- ਤਾਰਾ tārā
- asterisk in Tagalog
- talantanda
- asterisk in Arabic
- إِجَّامَة ʔijjāma, نُجَيْمَة
- asterisk in Malay
- tanda bintang
- asterisk in Indonesian
- tanda bintang, bintang, asteris
- asterisk in Thai
- ดอกจัน dɔ̀ɔk-jan
- asterisk in Vietnamese
- dấu sao, dấu hoa thị
- asterisk in Myanmar
- ခရေပွင့် hka.re-pwang.
- Dzongkha
- སྐར་རྟགས skar rtags
Examples of asterisk in a sentence
- The Times doesn’t even give it an asterisk or two.1998 February 16, John Heilpern, “Shopping and Fucking: Is that all there is?”, in The Observer, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN...
- The asterisk is one of the sacred objects used in the Byzantine rite.1962, Marvin C. Ross, “Copper”, in Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, volume 1...
- What is called the ‘asterisk’ represents the stars, especially the one at the birth of Christ, just as the veils represent the firmament, the swaddling clothes, the shroud, and the burial cloths.2013, Bryan D[ouglas] Spinks, quoting Symeon of Thessalonica (in translation), “The Eucharist and Anaphoras of the Byzantine Synthesis”, in...
- But from the point of view of its intrinsic value, the item has still to be dealt with, being asterisked in the balance sheet as follows: […]1896 August, The Australasian Insurance, Banking Record, quotees, “The Bank of New Zealand’s Balance Sheet”, in Clement H. Davis, editor...
Synonyms of asterisk
Forms of asterisk
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | asterisks |
| alternative form | asterisc |
| alternative form | asterix |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | asterisks |
| present participle | asterisking |
| past participle | asterisked |
| past | asterisked |
Origin of 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.
Words formed from asterisk
Questions about asterisk
- What does asterisk mean?
- Asterisk means a small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star.
- What is asterisk in Hindi?
- Asterisk in Hindi is तारक (tārak), सितारा (sitārā). See Asterisk meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use asterisk in a sentence?
- The Times doesn’t even give it an asterisk or two.
- What part of speech is asterisk?
- Asterisk can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce asterisk?
- Asterisk is pronounced /ˈæstəɹɪsk/ (UK).
- What is the plural of asterisk?
- The plural of asterisk is asterisks.
Words near asterisk in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: asterisk (page history and authors); పూవు (Telugu) (page history and authors); asterisk (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); asterisk (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-asterisk.ogg.
Cite this entry: “asterisk.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/asterisk. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.