Asterisk

How to spell asterisk

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce asterisk

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does asterisk mean?

1. nounThe star-shaped symbol (*) used to mark a note, omission, or special case in text.

Asterisk in a sentence

• A small asterisk next to the price warns of extra fees in the footnote.

• The contract used an asterisk to flag the disputed clause for later review.

Where does asterisk come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word comes from the Greek asteriskos, which literally meant 'little star', a diminutive formed from aster 'star' plus the diminutive ending -iskos. Greek scribes used such a small star-shaped mark to flag noteworthy or doubtful passages in manuscripts. It passed into Late Latin as asteriscus and entered English in the late 1300s through scholarly writing about texts and grammar. The same Greek aster 'star' sits inside many familiar relatives, including 'astronomy', 'asteroid', and the flower called the 'aster'. The spelling trap is the ending: people often say it as if it finished in '-ix' (confusing it with the cartoon name Asterix) or drop the final 'k', when it is properly '-isk', echoing the original diminutive.

How the word is built

• aster- (star)
• -isk (diminutive suffix: little) -> 'little star'