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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

North Star en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English north sterre, norþ sterre, equivalent to north + star.

Meanings

  1. (figuratively) An aim or a goal, a dependable guiding light in a quickly changing world.
    • His North Star was Rome, his compass was the Holy Office, “My polar star is Rome; my compass is the Holy Office.” 2018, Frank M. Guttman, Honoré Beaugrand: a Traditional “Rouge”?:
    • The wise voice in my head agreed with her and told me something I'd never forget: Stop going against yourself. Be you. All the way. And watch life work for you. This voice, my intuition, has become my North Star in life. 2021, Ashley Stahl, You Turn, page 272:
    • Believing that he would return to life when he was ready, she became his North Star. 2019, Karen A. McClintock, When Trauma Wounds: Pathways to Healing and Hope, page 155:
    • For Wilson, his religion served as guiding principle, not a series of explicit religious dictates governing politics: “Wilson's principles, derived from his religious faith, were his North Star, which pointed him in a general direction. 2012, Darrin Grinder, Steve Shaw, The Presidents & Their Faith:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
North Stars Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

NSM

Relateds

north star

North Star en · PROPN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English north sterre, norþ sterre, equivalent to north + star.

Meanings

  1. The current northern pole star, the star nearest the northern celestial pole, which for Earth has been Polaris for the last 1500 years.
    • Near-synonyms: pole star, polar star
    • The ships would leave Europe in April, when there was a good easterly wind. Trans-Atlantic mariners wanted the wind dead on the stern, so they could run with it, sticking to the same latitude—a method called easting and westing. Columbus, Cabot, and many others had done this. Until the eighteenth century, there was no reliable way to measure longitude, which helps explain why so many could make landfalls from the Bahamas to Newfoundland and believe they were near Asia. Latitude could be fixed by the relationship to the North Star or the sun, one of the few things known in the sixteenth century about celestial navigation. Westing ships out of Bristol reached the Labrador coast and dropped down to Newfoundland. Bretons went straight to the Grand Bank and St. John's. 1997, Mark Kurlansky, “Chapter 4: 1620: The Rock and the Cod”, in Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Walker, →ISBN:
  2. A locality in the Gwydir council area, north eastern New South Wales, Australia.
  3. A hamlet in the County of Northern Lights, Alberta, Canada.
  4. An unincorporated community in Yuba County, California, formerly North Star House.
  5. A census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware.
  6. An unincorporated community in Nicollet County, Minnesota.
  7. A village in Darke County, Ohio.
  8. An unincorporated community in Portage County, Wisconsin.
  9. A number of townships in the United States, listed under North Star Township.
  10. A settlement on the island of Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands.

Deriveds

Fairbanks North Star Borough

Synonyms

Pole Star · pole star · Lode Star · polar star

Translations (49)

sa ध्रुव नक्षत्र (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · nv náhookǫs bikǫʼ (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · hi ध्रुव तारा (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · pl Gwiazda Biegunowa (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · it stella polare (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · esu agyarrlak (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · fi Pohjantähti (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · mnc ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ ᡨᡝᠨ ᡳ ᡠᠰᡳᡥᠠ (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · ga an Réalta Thuaidh (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · cs Severka (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · tr Kutup Yıldızı (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · km ផ្កាយមេរុ (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · br Steredenn ar Vartoloded (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · br Sterenn (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · el Πολικός Αστέρας (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · ru Поля́рная звезда́ (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · de Polarstern (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · br Sterenn an Norzh (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · cs Polárka (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · ckt Унпэӈэр (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · fa میخگاه (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · gd An Reul-iùil (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · kmr Qunbere (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · eo Norda Stelo (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · ug شىمالىي قۇتۇپ يۇلتۇزى (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · sv polstjärna (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · pt Estrela Polar (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · mnc ᡥᠠᡩᠠᡥᠠ ᡠᠰᡳᡥᠠ (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · fr Étoile polaire (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · pdt Nuadstiern (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · br Sterenn ar C'hreiznoz (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · hu Sarkcsillag (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · cy seren y Gogledd (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · cmn 北極星 /北极星 (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · alt Алтын Казык (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · br Steredenn an Hanternoz (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · th ดาวเหนือ (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · ky Алтын Казык (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · fr Étoile du Nord (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · pl Gwiazda Polarna (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · haw Hōkūpaʻa (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · br Steredenn an Norzh (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · ko 북극성 (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · cmn 北辰 (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · ja 北極星 (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · gd A' Bhàrr-reult (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · br Sterenn Greiznoz (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · lo ດາວເໜືອ (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban) · kmr Qurix (star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban)