Word.ws English Dictionary

Pherkad

US/ˈfɜːrkæd/

Pherkad proper noun: γ Ursae Minoris, a star in the constellation Ursa Minor, formerly a dual North Star with Kochab from about 1000 BC to about AD 300.

Proper noun

Pherkad

  1. γ Ursae Minoris, a star in the constellation Ursa Minor, formerly a dual North Star with Kochab from about 1000 BC to about AD 300.
    Synonyms:
    Gamma Ursae Minoris, γ Ursae Minoris, Pherkad Major

Synonyms of Pherkad

  • Gamma Ursae Minoris
  • γ Ursae Minoris
  • Pherkad Major

Origin of Pherkad

From Arabic فرقد (farqad, “calf”), from aḫfa al farkadayn ("the dim one of the two calves") in reference to Pherkad and Kochab, previously dual North Stars. Formally approved by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Star Names on 21 August 2016.

Questions about Pherkad

What does Pherkad mean?
Pherkad means γ Ursae Minoris, a star in the constellation Ursa Minor, formerly a dual North Star with Kochab from about 1000 BC to about AD 300.
What part of speech is Pherkad?
Pherkad is a proper noun.
How do you pronounce Pherkad?
Pherkad is pronounced /ˈfɜːrkæd/ (US).

Words near Pherkad in the dictionary

  1. Pherecydes
  2. pheremone
  3. Pherephatta
  4. phereses
  5. pheresis
  6. Pherkad
  7. pherogram
  8. pherograms
  9. pheromonal
  10. pheromonally
  11. pheromone

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Pherkad (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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