stardust

Etymology

It is formed from English star + dust.^[2][3][4][5] It is also spelled with a hyphen or with a space.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In astronomy, a mass of stars seen through a telescope as a kind of dust, at first especially stars too distant to be told apart: 1836, in the Literary Gazette.^[2][3] Merriam-Webster's first date for this sense is 1844.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the stars seen as dust, the word passed to the fine matter found in space (1841),^[2] and by 1867–68 to meteoric dust, a use now rare.^[2][3][4] Figurative uses followed in the 20th century: something illusory or insubstantial (1906), with to have stardust in one's eyes, to be dreamily romantic or to have a falsely favourable view of someone,^[2][4] and an imaginary substance that gives a magical quality (1922), hence glamour, now especially the glamour of celebrities.^[2][7] Hoagy Carmichael's song Stardust dates from 1927.^[3] In drug slang, stardust has meant cocaine since the 1950s.^[8]

Timeline

• 1836 – a body of stars seen through a telescope as dust.^[2][3]
• 1841 – small particles of matter in space.^[2][9]
• 1867 – meteoric dust (now rare).^[2][3]
• 1906 – something illusory or insubstantial.^[2]
• 1922 – a magical quality; later, the glamour of celebrity.^[2]
• 1927 – Hoagy Carmichael's song Stardust.^[3]
• 1954 – drug slang, cocaine.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dreamy, romantic or magical quality, especially the glamour of fame: The young actor still had stardust in his eyes.^[10][7][2]
2. Cosmic dust, the fine material found between the stars.^[10][6][2]
3. A great number of distant stars that look like a cloud of dust.^[10][6][2]
4. (slang) Cocaine.^[8]

Related words

• star
• dust

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins