Markab

Proper noun

Markab

1. A subgiant, visible as a second-magnitude bluish star in the northern constellation of Pegasus, one of four stars in the asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus, one of the lunar stars observed in navigation.
   • [Markab (the south-westernmost star in the square) is one of the stars from which the moon's distance is calculated in the Nautical Almanac, for the purpose of finding the longitude by lunar observations.]1821, Thomas Kerigan, The Young Navigator's Guide to the Sidereal and Planetary Parts of Nautical Astronomy: Being the Theory and Practice of Finding the Latitude, the Longitude, and the Variation of...
   • [Markab—Flamsteed's Marchab—is the Arabs' word for a Saddle, Ship, or Vehicle,—anything ridden upon,—that was early applied to this star; but they also designated it as Matn al Faras, the Horse's Withers or Shoulder, and Bayer cited Yed Alpheras, the Horse's Hand, or, more properly, Forearm,—the...1899, Richard Hinckley Allen, Star-Names and Their Meanings, New York: G. E. Stechert, page 324

   Synonyms:

   Alpha Pegasi, Mankib

2. A star in the constellation Puppis; Kappa (κ) Puppis.
3. A star in the constellation Vela; Kappa (κ) Velorum.