stella

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈsteːl.la]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈstɛl.la]^[1]

Forms

stēlla f (genitive stēllae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *stērlā-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”), with a suffix.^[2][1] With Old Irish sell (“iris”) it points to an Italo-Celtic formation Proto-Indo-European *stēr-lo/ā-.^[2] Cognate with Welsh seren (“star”), Hittite ḫašter- (“star”), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”), Sanskrit तारः (tāraḥ, “star”) and Old English steorra (“star”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was a star, including the planets, the five stēllae errantēs, and a constellation.^[3][5] It was a star shape, a starfish, in Pliny, and the bright point of a gem or the pupil of an eye.^[3][1] Lewis & Short contrast it with sīdus, a group of stars, and astrum.^[6]

Medieval writers used it of stars, planets and comets.^[7] It survives as Italian stella, Portuguese estrela and Romanian stea.^[1] English stellar comes from Late Latin stēllāris, while English star is a Germanic cognate.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of stars and constellations.^[5][4]
• 1650s – English stellar is recorded, from Late Latin stēllāris.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A star, stēllae errantēs, the planets.^[3][5]
2. A constellation.^[3]
3. A star shape.^[3][1]
4. A starfish.^[3]
5. A bright point on a gem; the pupil of the eye.^[1]

Word family

• stēllāris
• stēllātus
• stēllifer
• stēlliger
• stēllimicāns
• stēllō
• stellula
• stēlliō

Related words

• stēllāns
• stēllātūra
• sīdus
• astrum
• English star
• English stellar

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com