Etymologically
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aster

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈas.teːr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈas.ter][1]

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]
  • 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