stella Italian · revision 38397

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=end of the 13th century, Novellino|origins=ine-pro *h₂stḗr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈstel.la/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Milan: /ˈstɛl.la/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''stella''' ''f'' (plural stelle)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and dialect forms include [[roa-oit|stela]] and [[roa-oit|stilla]].^(GDLI) Some northern dialects have ''strella'', ''strela'', crossed with [[la|astrum|t=star]], as in [[es|estrella]].^(Körting 1907)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|stēlla|t=star]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The word is panromance: [[fr|étoile]], [[oc|estela]], [[ca|estela]], [[es|estrella]], [[sc|isteddu]], [[ro|stea]], [[dlm|stala]] and [[rm|staila]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) In Spanish the ⟨r⟩ comes from a cross with [[m|la|astrum]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin word goes back to [[itc-pro|*stērlā]], a derivative of [[ine-pro|*h₂stḗr|t=star]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan reconstructs an Italo-Celtic formation with the suffix ⟨-lo-⟩ on the evidence of [[sga|sell|t=iris of the eye]];^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini starts instead from a form ⟨*stelna⟩.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) The base is that of [[goh|sterno]] (whence [[de|Stern]]), [[en|star]], [[br|sterenn]] and [[hit|hašter-]], while [[grc|ἀστήρ|tr=astḗr]] has the root form behind [[astro]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is the ''Novellino'', at the end of the 13th century, for “a heavenly body shining with its own light, like the sun”: someone is taught “del corso delle stelle” (the course of the stars).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|20, 121) Among the GDLI's earliest quotations is Saint Francis's ''Canticle of the Creatures'': “Laudato si, mi' Signore, per sora luna e le stelle” (praised be you, my Lord, for sister moon and the stars).^(GDLI|20, 121)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Under the old belief that human affairs are ruled by the heavens, the word came to mean “destiny, fortune” in Petrarch, before 1374;^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Dante writes “se tu segui tua stella, / non puoi fallire a glorioso porto” (if you follow your star, you cannot fail to reach a glorious harbour).^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Petrarch also used it for a bright eye, Machiavelli for a protector or guide, and Tommaseo's dictionary (1873) records it for a beautiful or beloved woman.^(DELI 1999) From Sebastiano Serlio, before 1555, it names any star-shaped object.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The theatrical sense “star performer” is a calque of [[en|star]], first found in 1856 in a translation of Walter Scott;^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) ''stellina'' “starlet” followed in 1935, and the racing yacht called Star in 1960.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) The ''stella alpina'' (edelweiss) came into the standard language from the dialects of Trentino, Belluno and Friuli, replacing the Germanism ''edelvais''.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3625) ''Stella di mare'' (starfish, 18th century) translates the scientific ''asterias''.^(DEI|3625) Today stars also grade hotels and restaurants, and ''stellette'' are the badge of the armed forces (1908).^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1293–1294 – Dante uses ''stellato'' “starry”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * End of the 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses ''stella''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1374 – Petrarch uses the word for “destiny” and for a bright eye.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses it for a protector or guide.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1555 – Sebastiano Serlio uses it for a star-shaped object.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1856 – ''Stella'' “star performer” appears, after English ''star''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1935 – ''Stellina'' “starlet” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(astronomy)'' A [[m|en|star]], a heavenly body shining with its own light, a sphere of gas in which nuclear reactions take place: ''Il Sole è una stella di media grandezza.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Any bright point in the night sky, usually not the Sun or the Moon: ''Stanotte si vedono moltissime stelle.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A star-shaped figure or object: ''Ho ritagliato una stella di carta per l'albero.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A badge or emblem in the shape of a star; a star in the grading of hotels and restaurants: ''un albergo a quattro stelle''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|destiny]], fortune, as in ''nascere sotto una buona stella'' (to be born under a lucky star).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A [[m|en|celebrity]], a star of the cinema, theatre or sport: ''È diventata una stella del cinema.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(DELI 1999)

+ # A white patch on a horse's forehead.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The rowel of a spur.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stellare]]

+ * [[stellato]]

+ * [[stellante]]

+ * [[stelletta]]

+ * [[stellina]]

+ * [[stellone]]

+ * [[stelloncino]]

+ * [[costellazione]]

+ * [[costellato]]

+ * [[costellare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[astro]]

+ * [[fr|étoile]]

+ * [[en|star]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases include ''portare alle stelle'' (to praise to the skies), ''andare alle stelle'' (of prices: to soar), and ''stella cadente'' (shooting star).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) DELI discusses ''vedere le stelle'', “to see stars” from pain.^(DELI 1999) The GDLI has two minor homographs: a nautical ''stella'', the rise of the floor timbers of a ship towards the keel and also a ship's wake, from Late Latin ''astella'' “splinter”, a variant of ''astula'', diminutive of ''assis'' “board”, and an old dialect ''stella'' “stable”, a variant of ''stalla''.^(GDLI|20, 126) GRADIT has an obsolete technical ''stella'' (1583) as a synonym of ''stellatura''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}