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Polaris

 [poh-lair-is, -lar-, puh-]   Origin

Po·lar·is

   [poh-lair-is, -lar-, puh-]
noun
1.
Astronomy. the polestar or North Star, a star of the second magnitude situated close to the north pole of the heavens, in the constellation Ursa Minor: the outermost star in the handle of the Little Dipper.
2.
a two-stage U.S. ballistic missile, usually fired from a submerged submarine.
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Origin:
1955–60; short for Medieval Latin stella polāris polar star

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Polaris is always a great word to know.
So is meteoroid. Does it mean:
a cloud of interstellar gas and dust that appears hazy, or fuzzy, and extended in a telescope view
any of the small bodies, often remnants of comets, traveling through space: when such a body enters the earth's atmosphere it is heated to luminosity and becomes a meteor
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

Po·la·ri

   [puh-lahr-ee, paw-]
noun
a distinctive English argot in use since at least the 18th century among groups of theatrical and circus performers and in certain homosexual communities, derived largely from Italian, directly or through Lingua Franca.
Also, parlyaree, parlary.

Origin:
ultimately < Italian parlare to speak, talk; see parle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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World English Dictionary
Polaris (pəˈlɑːrɪs)
 
—n
1.  the Pole Star, Also called: the North Star the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, situated slightly less than 1° from the north celestial pole. It is a Cepheid variable, with a period of four days. Visual magnitude: 2.08--2.17; spectral type: F8Ib
2.  a.  a type of US two-stage intermediate-range ballistic missile, usually fired by a submerged submarine
 b.  (as modifier): a Polaris submarine
 
[shortened from Medieval Latin stella polāris polar star]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

Polaris
Mod.L., short for stella polaris, lit. "the pole star" (see polar). The ancient Greeks called it Phoenice, "the Phoenician (star)," since the Phoenicians used it for navigation, though due to procession of the equinoxes it was not then the pole star. As the name of a U.S.
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Navy long-range submarine-launched guided nuclear missile, it dates from 1957.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
Polaris   (pə-lār'ĭs)  Pronunciation Key 
A bright star at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper in the constellation Ursa Minor. Polaris is 1° from the north celestial pole, and it remains in the same location in the sky all year, making it a useful navigation tool. Polaris is actually a double star with a faint companion star and has an apparent magnitude of 2.04. Also called North Star. Scientific name: Alpha Ursae Minoris.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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