Etymologically
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stella

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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

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