[as-tuh-risk] 
| 1. | a small starlike symbol (*), used in writing and printing as a reference mark or to indicate omission, doubtful matter, etc. |
| 2. | Linguistics. the figure of a star (*) used to mark utterance that would be considered ungrammatical or otherwise unacceptable by native speakers of a language, as in * I enjoy to ski. |
| 3. | Historical Linguistics. the figure of a star (*) used to mark a hypothetical or reconstructed form that is not attested in a text or inscription. |
| 4. | something in the shape of a star or asterisk. |
| 5. | to mark with an asterisk. |
[as-tuh-risk] , with the final syllable preceding the [k], a metathesized pronunciation is also heard, in which the [s] and [k] change places producing [as-tuh-riks]. This pronunciation, resulting in part from analogy with plural forms like kicks and sticks, can sometimes lead to a false analysis of [as-tuh-riks] as a plural pronunciation, with a corresponding singular [as-tuh-rik]. The metathesized pronunciation, although occasionally heard among educated speakers, is usually considered nonstandard, as is the pronunciation with no [s] in the final syllable.| as·ter·isk (ās'tə-rĭsk') n. A star-shaped figure (*) used chiefly to indicate an omission, a reference to a footnote, or an unattested word, sound, or affix. tr.v. as·ter·isked, as·ter·isk·ing, as·ter·isks To mark with an asterisk. [Middle English, from Late Latin asteriscus, from Greek asteriskos, diminutive of astēr, star; see ster-3 in Indo-European roots.] |
asterisk character
"*" ASCII code 42. Common names include: star; INTERCAL: splat; ITU-T: asterisk. Rare: wild card; gear; dingle; mult; spider; aster; times; twinkle; glob; Nathan Hale.
Commonly used as the multiplication operator and as the Kleene star. Often doubled, as in "x**2", to mean "to the power". In C and related languages, asterisk is used as the dereference operator, "*p" meaning "the thing pointed to by p".
(2006-09-10)
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