Interstellar
adjectiveOccurring or existing in the space between the stars.
How to spell interstellar
12 letters · 4 syllables
How to pronounce interstellar
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does interstellar mean?
- adjectiveOccurring or existing in the space between the stars.
Interstellar in a sentence
-
The probe was designed to survive decades of interstellar travel.
-
Scientists measured the thin clouds of interstellar dust between distant suns.
Where does interstellar come from?
Language of origin: Latin
This word is a scientific compound assembled from Latin parts. The prefix inter- means 'between' or 'among', and stella is the Latin word for 'star', the same root that gives us 'stellar' and 'constellation'. The ending -ar (from Latin -aris) simply means 'relating to', so the whole word literally describes things 'between the stars'. It was coined in English in the early seventeenth century, with astronomers and writers using it to discuss the vast empty distances separating one star from another. The spelling trap lives in the middle: a single 'r' in inter meets a double 'l' in stellar, so the careful speller has to keep one 'r' but two 'l's straight.
How the word is built
- inter- (between, among)
- stell (from Latin stella: star)
- -ar (adjective suffix: relating to)
Fix your spelling for good.
Spelling Garden finds the words you personally get wrong, plants them in a garden, and brings each one back just before you would have forgotten it.
Just five minutes a day is all it takes to fix your spelling.