See also: ✱ ,
ᚕ ,
٭ ,
𐠂 ,
𐠀 ,
★ ,
✶ ,
✴ ,
꙳ ,
ᕯ , and ⁂
Text style
Emoji style
*︎
*️
Text style is forced with ⟨︎⟩ and emoji style with ⟨️⟩.
* (English symbol name asterisk )
( alchemy ) Sal ammoniac (6 or 8 point).
( astronomy ) A star (5 or 6 point).
( Internet slang ) Alternative form of * * ( “ encloses an interpretation ” )
I can't see anything! – Hold on a second… * turns the light on
( computing ) Used as a multiplication symbol; × .
( regular expressions ) Used as a wildcard to detect zero or more occurrences of the preceding element .
The string ab* c
matches “ac”, “abc”, “abbc”, “abbbc”, and so on.
( mathematics )
( algebra ) Complex or transpose conjugate ; conjugate .
( algebra , computer science ) Free monoid or Kleene star .
In the language defined by AB* A
, each string starts with an A, ends with a distinct A, and between them has zero or more Bs.
( linear algebra , functional analysis ) Dual space .
( meteorology ) Snow (6 point).
( particle physics ) Used to designate a resonance.
( IPA ) a reserved symbol with no set meaning, that needs to be defined by the transcriber. May be used as a letter or as a diacritic.
( linguistics )
( descriptive linguistics ) Used before a term (such as a word, phrase, or sentence) to show that it is grammatically incorrect , or in some other way ill-formed .
Coordinate term: **
English prepositions come before the associated noun: we say She lives in Rome , not * She lives Rome in .
Roots like * bep- were not allowed in Proto-Indo-European.
( historical linguistics ) Used before or after a term to denote that it is only hypothesized and not actually attested .
When used before a term: that the term has been reconstructed by a linguist , on the basis of comparative method or by comparing other reconstructed terms, as the plausible ancestor form of an existing , attested term in one or more languages .
Coordinate term: **
His theory of the Proto-Slavic * kъniga being ultimately derived from Chinese, via the middle form * kūinig , reflecting ancient routes of cultural influx from the East, has not gained a firm ground in the Slavicist circles in the last century.
When used after a term: that the term is actually attested, but not in its citation form that is being mentioned.
PIE * ḱonk- yielded Vedic śaṅk-ate “worries, hesitates”, as well as pre-Germanic * kank- , whence also Gothic hāhan * “to hang”.
When used before a symbol representing a phoneme : that the phoneme is reconstructed on the basis of comparative method.
Proto-Germanic had three unvoiced fricatives: * /f/, * /þ/, and * /h/.
When used before a symbol representing a sound value: that the sound value is hypothesized.
Proto-Germanic had three unvoiced fricatives, possibly representing * [ɸ], * [θ], and * [x].
( music ) A pointing mark in Anglican chant , which marks a place in the text where an extra breath should be taken, resulting in a brief pause .
Coordinate terms: | , ' , : , ⋅ , — , ‖ , †
( multiplication symbol ) : × , x , ·
( antonym(s) of “ multiplication symbol ” ) : : , / , ÷
( multiplication symbol ) : + , - , / , % , ^ , **
* * ( encloses text for emphasis )
( astronomy ) : V* , Cl*
( multiplication symbol ) : **
( wildcard ) : *.*
( linguistics ) : **
*
Used to censor sections of obscene or profane words.
( Internet slang ) Used to censor non-offensive words to treat them as insulting or profane.
wh* te "people"
Used in a dictionary or similar work to indicate a cross-reference to another entry .
2014 , The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar , 2nd edition (in English), Oxford: Oxford University Press , →ISBN , page 25 :analysis The process of breaking up *words, * phrases, * clauses, * sentences, * constructions, etc. into their * constituent parts.
Used at the beginning of a footnote , especially if it is the only one on the page, and after a word, phrase, or sentence that this footnote relates to.
( by extension ) Used at the beginning of a clarifying statement or disclaimer , especially if it is the only one on the page.
2022 August 5, “Monkeypox 2022 U.S. Map & Case Count”, in [ United States] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [1] , archived from the original on 2022-08-05 :Total confirmed monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases: 7,102 * One Florida case is listed here but included in the United Kingdom case counts because the individual was tested while in the UK.
( cricket ) Used to marks a score or statistic that is incomplete , such as the score of a batsman who is (or was) not out .
( chiefly computing ) Uses especially in computing.
Used as a wildcard to denote zero or more characters .
trans* ― transgender or transsexual
( Internet ) Used to indicate a field of a form that must be filled out .
( Internet slang ) Used before or after a word to show a correction has been made, chiefly by the same participant.
I'm our of time. / * out
( genealogy ) Used before a date to denote that it is a birthdate .
Used to indicate emphasis , see * * .
Used to form a dinkus , * * *, or asterism , ⁂ .
The English names of the mark are asterisk and star .
In Internet slang, when two or more corrections are made, one may add a * with each correction.
I just got back from Sarcamento / * Sacarmento / ** Sacramento
( in censoring ) : ■ , —
( footnote ) : † , ‡ , § , ‖ , ¶
( as wildcard ) : %
( genealogy ) : °
( antonym(s) of “ genealogy ” ) : † / ✝ / + (French)
( beginning a footnote ) : † , ‡ , ** , [numbers]
( as wildcard ) : ?
( genealogy ) : ⚭ / ✕ , ⚮ , ⚵ (German)
( grammatically incorrect ) : ?
*
( text messaging ) Star .
ur a * ! ― You’re a star !
( text messaging ) Used to replace the sounds /stɑː(ɹ)/ (star) in any word that has this pronunciation or similar.
* t ― start
* fish ― starfish
* g8 ― stargate
( astronomy ) * : A star (also ✶ or ⚹ ).
*
( nonstandard ) the Gendersternchen ; Used to separate multiple gendered inflections in gender-neutral writing.
2020 February 23, Alexander Diehl, “Hamburger Küche: Aal kann – muss aber nicht”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz [2] , →ISSN :Aber genauer besehen sind sie in Hamburg ja Lutheraner* innen, und Luther war das Leibliche so fern nun wieder nicht. (please add an English translation of this quotation)
In speech either expanded (Spieler*in → Spieler oder Spielerin ), or realized with a glottal stop /ˈʃpiːləʁʔɪn/ .
Issues can arise with some forms, compare:
Freunde m pl , Freundinnen f pl → Freund*innen , where the e of the masculine term is dropped and it's not Freunde*innen
Arzt m , Ärztin f → Ärzt*in , where the umlaut-less A is not present
ein Abgeordneter m , eine Abgeordnete f → ein*e Abgeordnete*r , where the feminine-like ein*e occurs together with the masculine-like Abgeordnete*r
: ( as in Freund:innen ; nonstandard, rare )
_ ( as in Freund_innen ; nonstandard )
/ ( as in Freund/innen ; nonstandard, proscribed )
/ - ( as in Mitarbeiter/-innen )
() ( as in Mitarbeiter(innen) )
(m/w/d) ( as in Mitarbeiter (m/w/d) )
capital I in -in ( “ feminine suffix ” ) ( as in FreundInnen ; nonstandard, proscribed )
"gender-neutral ", but binary only: