English
star
Star comes from Old English steorra ‘star’, from Proto-Germanic *sternǭ ‘star’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr ‘star’, and perhaps ultimately from *h₂eHs- ‘to burn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eHs-‘to be dry, to burn’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗr‘star’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sternǭ‘star’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sternōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*sterrōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150steorra‘star’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sterre
- Englishearliest quotation 1591star
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eHs-‘to be dry, to burn’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗr‘star’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sternǭ‘star’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sternōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*sterrōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150steorra‘star’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sterre
- Englishearliest quotation 1591star
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “But O malignant and ill-boading Starres,[…]”
Linked words
pairs
- star and disaster both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr ‘star’
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- ‘to be dry, to dry’
are, ash, stellar, arent, arson, azalea, ardent, arid, ashy, ashen, areal, ardor, 6 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr
stella, asteroid, astral, asterisk, aster, 25 more
through Old English steorra
Today it means
noun Any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- / star