Stellar

How to spell stellar

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce stellar

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does stellar mean?

1. adjectiveExceptionally good or impressive.
2. adjectiveRelating to or consisting of stars.

Stellar in a sentence

• The new hire delivered a stellar performance in her first quarter.

• The telescope measured the stellar distances across the galaxy.

• The restaurant earned stellar reviews from every critic.

• The lecture explained how stellar collapse produces a supernova.

Where does stellar come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Stellar comes from the Latin word stella, which simply meant 'star', the same root that gives us 'constellation' and the name Stella. The Romans built the late Latin adjective stellaris to mean 'relating to the stars', and English borrowed this form in the seventeenth century when astronomy was becoming a serious science. For its first couple of centuries the word stayed strictly technical, describing actual stars and the night sky. Only in more recent times did it pick up the figurative sense of 'outstanding' or 'first-rate', as if a person or performance shone like a star. The single 'l' in stella and the doubled 'l' in stellar trip people up, so it helps to remember that the -ar suffix attaches to the full stem stell-, producing two l's.

How the word is built

• stell- (from Latin stella: star)
• -ar (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')