Star (stär), n. [OE. sterre, AS. steorra; akin to OFries. stera, OS.
sterro, D. ster, OHG. sterno, sterro, G. stern, Icel. stjarna, Sw.
stjerna, Dan. stierne, Goth. staírn, Armor. & Corn. steren, L. stella,
Gr. 'asth`r, 'a`stron, Skr. star; perhaps from a root meaning, to
scatter, Skr. st, L. sternere (cf. Stratum), and originally applied to
the stars as being strewn over the sky, or as being scatterers or
spreaders of light. √296. Cf. Aster, Asteroid, Constellation,
Disaster, Stellar.] 1. One of the innumerable luminous bodies seen in
the heavens; any heavenly body other than the sun, moon, comets, and
nebulæ.
His eyen twinkled in his head aright, As do the stars in the frosty
night.
Chaucer.
The stars are distinguished as planets, and fixed stars. See Planet,
Fixed stars under Fixed, and Magnitude of a star under Magnitude.