Definition of "asterisk"

(dated) A small star; also (by extension), something resembling or shaped like a star.  quotations

1. The star-shaped symbol *, which is used in printing and writing for various purposes, including to refer a reader to a note at the bottom of a page or in a margin, and to indicate the omission of letters or words; a star.  quotations

   Quotations

   • He is in the right to put the Aſteriſks, not the VVords into the text; becauſe They do indeed give us [notice, that there is in Them] as much additional meaning, as there vvould be in thoſe vvords vvhich they ſo properly repreſent.

     1754, Thomas Edwards, “Canon XVIII. He may Explane His Author, or Any Former Editor of Him; by Supplying Such Words, or Pieces of Words, or Marks, as He Thinks Fit for that Purpose.”, in The Canons of Criticism, and Glossary; , page 157

   • I having been looking at your pamphlet, and shewing it, but I mention no names. I don't see the use of names, for my part, unless it be to put in asterisks. It is—yes—very, indeed.

     1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Publishing”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 13

   • There is no punctuation, but three signs are used, namely, 1st, the asterisc (※); 2nd, the obelus (—:); and 3rd, the two dots (:). The asteriscs indicate the words of the Hebrew text, not admitted by the Seventy into their Greek version, which words are included between the asterisc and the two dots; […]Used to refer to a different symbol.]

     , volume I, London: Henry G[eorge] Bohn, […], page 163

   • The Hôtels marked with one asterisc are Restaurants also. Those marked with two asteriscs have Table d'Hôte.

     1869, “Notices Useful to the Foreigner”, in One Week at Venice: Illustrated Guide for Visiting Every Thing Worthy of Consideration, Venice: Colombo Coen’s New Library, […], page 128

   • Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.

     1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is Opened”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, page 714

   • On the other hand, The New York Times favors the 'it doesn't exist' formula. It has prudishly renamed the play Shopping and … Everyone does it, no one will name it! The Times doesn’t even give it an asterisk or two. Three little dots must suffice. "How was it for you, my darling?" "That was the greatest three little dots I ever had in my life!"

     1998 February 16, John Heilpern, “Shopping and Fucking: Is that all there is?”, in The Observer‎, London: Guardian News & Media, archived from the original on 2022-05-17

   • Data were collected from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Nutrition Coordination Center (NCC) Carotenoid Database (Holden et al., 1999) and correspond to raw foods unless indicated with an asterisc (cooked) or two asteriscs (canned).

     2012, Úrsula Flores-Perez, Manuel Rodriguez-Concepcion, “Carotenoids”, in Andrew Salter, Helen Wiseman, Gregory Tucker, editors, Phytonutrients, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, figure 3.2 caption, page 94

   1. Something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • Using a crafting knife, cut a small asterisk shape in the center of each black circle. Gently pierce each asterisk with a wooden skewer to make a hole. Once done, simply insert your stove knobs, and you're almost ready!

        2016, Courtney Sanchez, “Retro Stove”, in DIY Box Creations: Fun and Creative Projects to Make out of Really Big Boxes!, Lake Forest, Calif.: Walter Foster Jr., Quarto Publishing Group, page 48

   2. (figuratively) Something which is of little importance or which is marginal; a footnote.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • I don't want to be an asterisk in my kids' lives. I don't want to be just some guy who sporadically appears and then disappears again.

        2016, Charles [Wesley] Marshall, “More SkyMiles, Less Family”, in The Good Dad Guide, Eugene, Or.: Harvest House Publishers, part 6 (Prevent), page 142

      • The opposing view sees it as an abject failure and historically irrelevant. This verdict was neatly summed up by the New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin when he predicted, a year on from the event: "It will be an asterisk in the history books, if it gets a mention at all."

        2021 September 12, Andrew Anthony, “‘We showed it was possible to create a movement from almost nothing’: Occupy Wall Street 10 years on”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, archived from the original on 2023-01-20

   3. (US, sports, figuratively) A blemish in an otherwise outstanding achievement.  examples

2. (Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism) An instrument with radiating arms resembling a star which is placed over the diskos (or paten) used during the Eucharist to prevent the veil covering the chalice and diskos from touching the host on the diskos.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Then he [the deacon] reverently covereth the holy Cup with the veil. Likewise he placeth the Asterisk upon the holy Diskos, and the veil over it, and saith the following prayer with the Priest, silently, […]

     1866, John Chrysostom, “Liturgy of the Catechumens”, in [anonymous], transl., Service of the Divine and Sacred Liturgy of Our Holy Father John Chrysostom. […], London: Joseph Masters, […], pages 69–70

   • The asterisk is one of the sacred objects used in the Byzantine rite. It is placed on the paten to protect the Eucharistic bread from contact with the special veil that covers it. The name derives from the shape of the object and symbolically recalls the Biblical words: "And the star came and stood above where the child was" […] [Matthew 2:9].

     1962, Marvin C. Ross, “Copper”, in Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, volume 1 (Metalwork, Ceramics, Glass, Glyptics, Painting), Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, published 1970, paragraph 89, page 73

   • The diskos, then, typifies the heavens, and for that reason, it is round, and holds the Master of heaven. What is called the ‘asterisk’ represents the stars, especially the one at the birth of Christ, just as the veils represent the firmament, the swaddling clothes, the shroud, and the burial cloths.

     2013, Bryan D[ouglas] Spinks, quoting Symeon of Thessalonica (in translation), “The Eucharist and Anaphoras of the Byzantine Synthesis”, in Do This in Remembrance of Me: The Eucharist from the Early Church to the Present Day (SCM Studies in Worship and Liturgy), London: SCM Press, page 126

(transitive) To mark or replace (text, etc.) with an asterisk symbol (*; noun sense 1.1); to star.  quotations  examples