*

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See also: , , ٭, 𐠂, 𐠀, , , , , , and
Text style Emoji style
*︎ *️
Text style is forced with ⟨︎⟩ and emoji style with ⟨️⟩.
* U+002A, *
ASTERISK
)
[U+0029]
Basic Latin +
[U+002B]

Translingual

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Symbol

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* (English symbol name asterisk)

  1. (alchemy) Sal ammoniac (6 or 8 point).
  2. (astronomy) A star (5 or 6 point).
  3. (Internet slang) Alternative form of * * (encloses an interpretation)
    I can't see anything! – Hold on a second… *turns the light on
  4. (computing) Used as a multiplication symbol; ×.
  5. (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.
  6. (mathematics)
    1. (algebra) Complex or transpose conjugate; conjugate.
    2. (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.
    3. (linear algebra, functional analysis) Dual space.
  7. (meteorology) Snow (6 point).
  8. (particle physics) Used to designate a resonance.
  9. (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.
  10. (linguistics)
    1. (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.
    2. (historical linguistics) Used before or after a term to denote that it is only hypothesized and not actually attested.
      1. 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: **
        It is posited that Proto-Indo-European *sneygʷʰos is the etymon of both Latin nix and English snow.
        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.
      2. 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”.
      3. 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/.
      4. 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].
  11. (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: |, ', :, , , ,

Synonyms

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  • (multiplication symbol): ×, x, ·

Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of multiplication symbol): :, /, ÷

Coordinate terms

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  • (multiplication symbol): +, -, /, %, ^, **

Derived terms

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  • * * (encloses text for emphasis)
  • (astronomy): V*, Cl*
  • (multiplication symbol): **
  • (wildcard): *.*
  • (linguistics): **

Punctuation mark

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*

  1. Used to censor sections of obscene or profane words.
    1. (Internet slang) Used to censor non-offensive words to treat them as insulting or profane.
      wh*te "people"
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. (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.
  5. (cricket) Used to marks a score or statistic that is incomplete, such as the score of a batsman who is (or was) not out.
  6. (chiefly computing) Uses especially in computing.
    1. Used as a wildcard to denote zero or more characters.
      trans*transgender or transsexual
    2. (Internet) Used to indicate a field of a form that must be filled out.
    3. (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
  7. (genealogy) Used before a date to denote that it is a birthdate.
  8. Used to indicate emphasis, see * *.
  9. Used to form a dinkus, * * *, or asterism, .

Usage notes

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  • 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

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of genealogy): / / + (French)

Coordinate terms

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  • (beginning a footnote): , , **, [numbers]
  • (as wildcard): ?
  • (genealogy): / , , (German)
  • (grammatically incorrect): ?

English

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Symbol

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*

  1. (text messaging) Star.
    ur a *!You’re a star!
  2. (text messaging) Used to replace the sounds /stɑː(ɹ)/ (star) in any word that has this pronunciation or similar.
    *tstart
    *fishstarfish
    *g8stargate
  3. (astronomy) : A star (also or ).

German

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Symbol

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*

  1. (nonstandard) the Gendersternchen; Used to separate multiple gendered inflections in gender-neutral writing.
    Freund*innen; ein*e Beamt*er*in; Witwe*r
    friends (of any gender); an officer (of any gender); widower (of any gender)
    • 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)

Usage notes

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  • In speech either expanded (Spieler*inSpieler oder Spielerin), or realized with a glottal stop /ˈʃpiːləʁʔɪn/.
  • Issues can arise with some forms, compare:
    • Freunde m pl, Freundinnen f plFreund*innen, where the e of the masculine term is dropped and it's not Freunde*innen
    • Arzt m, Ärztin fÄrzt*in, where the umlaut-less A is not present
    • ein Abgeordneter m, eine Abgeordnete fein*e Abgeordnete*r, where the feminine-like ein*e occurs together with the masculine-like Abgeordnete*r

Synonyms

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  • : (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: