aster

Forms

astēr m (genitive asteris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”),^[2][3][1] which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”).^[4] The TLL notes Bücheler's doubt, for the sense “star, destiny” in an inscription, whether the word is the Greek one or astrum reshaped.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD) is the first to use it, for the aster plant, which some called bubonion, and for a kind of Samian earth.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The plant, aster Atticus, is probably Aster amellus, the Italian starwort, which Virgil and Columella call amellus.^[2][6] The aster Samius was a white Samian earth used in medicine, so called, Georges explains, because it was marked with a star;^[6][2] Celsus also names it.^[2] The sense “star” itself appears in an inscription, where it seems to mean one's star or destiny,^[2] and Macrobius distinguishes a single star from a constellation by the Greek words.^[5][6]

In Medieval Latin it named the Samian earth and medicines (a lozenge, an eye salve) called after the star.^[7] English took it in 1706 as aster, the name of a flower genus “so called for the radiate heads of the flowers”.^[8]

Timeline

• 14–37 AD – Celsus names the Samian earth.^[2][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder names the plant and the Samian earth.^[2][3][4]
• first half of the 5th century AD – Macrobius uses the Greek word for a single star.^[5][6][4]
• 1706 – English aster for the flower genus.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A plant, probably the Italian starwort, Aster amellus.^[2][3][6]
2. aster Samius: a kind of white Samian clay.^[2][3][6]
3. A star; one's star, destiny.^[2][3]
4. (Medieval Latin) A medicine named after the star.^[7]

Related words

• English aster

Usage notes

The native Latin word for a star is stēlla,^[6][5] and Macrobius renders a constellation by sīdus.^[5] Wiktionary compares astrum and the inherited stēlla.^[1] Medieval aster can also be a spelling of auster “south wind”.^[4][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press