| asterisk (*) |
| Definition: The * used in writing and printing. |
| Usage:
1. Use it to show omitted letters in a word. d*rn 2. Use it to indicate that there's a footnote. Note: If there is already an asterisked footnote, use an obelisk. 3. When showing etymology, use it to show that a word is a conjectured word (i.e., that there are no written examples of it). The word magpie derives from the Latin pica, magpie, and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European base *pi, which denotes "pointedness of the beak." |
| Etymology: The word asterisk ultimately derives from the Greek asterikos, little star (the diminutive of aster, star). |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1382; however, its first citation in its punctuation sense is from 1612: "For the necessary questions … I have set an Asterisk upon them." (Brinsley Pos. Parts Pref. (1669) 4) |