stella

See also: Stella, -stella, and -stellä

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin stēlla (“a star”). Doublet of estoile, étoile, star, and aster.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛl.ə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlə
• Homophones: Stella, stellar (in non-rhotic accents), steller (in non-rhotic accents), Steller (in non-rhotic accents)
• Hyphenation: stel‧la

Noun

stella (plural stellae)

1. (botany) A star-shaped structure.
   • 1939 June, Reed C. Rollins, “Studies in the Genus Lesquerella”, in American Journal of Botany, volume 26, number 6, →DOI:

     Plants of this collection are several decimeters taller; the pedicels are more remote in the inforescence; the stellae are larger and form a less dense cover on plant parts, and the siliques are slightly larger than in the usual form of the species.

   • 1997 July, Maria de Fátima Agra, Michael Nee, “A new species of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum (Solanaceae) from northeastern Brazil”, in Brittonia, volume 49, number 3, →DOI, page 350:

     Stems and young branches terete, viscid, densely ferruginous-tomentose with sessile to short-stalked pauciradiate stellae bearing greatly prolonged 4-6-celled midpoints, these 0.1-0.2 cm long, gland-tipped, strongly armed with ferruginous laterally compressed prickles, these broad-based and sparsely glandular in the basal quarter.

   • 2008 December, Fang Chen, XiPing Dong, “The internal structure of Early Cambrian fossil embryo Olivooides revealed in the light of synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy”, in Chinese Science Bulletin, volume 53, number 24, →DOI, page 3860:

     The morphological and statistic analyses are also given to the stellae structure of Olivooides and Punctatus, which indicates that this structure is a result of adaptive evolu- tion to a lifestyle of fast-attaching after hatching, probably with the function of mucilage secretion.

2. (US, numismatics) Alternative letter-case form of Stella.

Derived terms

• stellar
• stellate
• stelliform
• stellify

 

Related terms

• constellate
• constellation
• constellatory
• Estella
• Estelle
• Estrella
• Stella
• stellion

 

References

• “stella”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• all set, sallet

Corsican

Alternative forms

• stedda, stidda

Etymology

From Latin stella, from Proto-Italic *stērlā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr. Cognates include Italian stella and Romanian stea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstelːa/

Noun

stella f (plural stelle)

1. star

References

• “stella, stedda, stidda” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa

Interlingua

Etymology

From Latin stella, from Proto-Italic *stērlā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr.

Noun

stella (plural stellas)

1. star

Italian

Etymology 1

Wikiquote ^it

Inherited from Latin stēlla, from Proto-Italic *stērlā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr. Doublet of étoile.

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ˈstel.la/
  • Rhymes: -ella
  • Hyphenation: stél‧la
• (Milan) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛl.la/

  • Audio (Milan)

    (file)

Noun

stella f (plural stelle)

1. star
   • c. 1226, Francis of Assisi, Cantico delle creature [Canticle of the Creatures]‎^[1]; copied, (manuscript), c. mid 13^th century, page 2:

     Lauꝺato ſi miſignore ꝑ ſora luna ele ſtelle. in celu lai foꝛmate clarite ⁊ p̄tioſe ⁊ belle. (Umbria)

     [Laudato si' mi' signore per sora luna e le stelle, in cielu l'hai formate clarite e preziose e belle.]

     Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in heaven you have made them clear and precious and beautiful.

   • mid 1300s–mid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXXIV”, in Inferno [Hell]‎^[2], lines 136–139; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[3], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     salimmo sù, el primo e io secondo,
     tanto ch’i’ vidi de le cose belle
     che porta ’l ciel, per un pertugio tondo.
     E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.

     We climbed up, he first and I second, until I saw the beautiful things that are in the sky through a round hole; then we got out to see the stars again.

   • 1473, Lorenzo de' Medici, Altercazione [Altercation]‎^[4], lines 139–141; republished as “De’ beni naturali, cioè corporali” (chapter 3), Altercazione, in Attilio Simioni, compiler, Lorenzo de’ Medici il Magnifico - Opere‎^[5], volume 2, Bari: Laterza, 1913, page 51:

     E come il sol par l’altre stelle cuopra,
     cosí questo splendor lucente e chiaro
     ombra l’inferior, ch’è piú degna opra.

     And just as the sun seems to cover the other stars, so this shining, clear splendour shadows the lesser, being a more worthy task.

   • mid 1560s [29–19 BCE], “Libro quinto”, in Annibale Caro, transl., Eneide, translation of Aeneis by Publius Vergilius Maro (in Classical Latin), lines 746–748; republished as L’Eneide di Virgilio‎^[6], Florence: G. Barbera, 1892:

     Tal sovente dal ciel divelta cade
     Notturna stella, e trascorrendo lascia
     Dopo sè lungo e luminoso il crine.

     [original: caelō ceu saepe refīxa
     trānscurrunt crīnemque volantia sīdera dūcunt]

     Thus a night star, ripped from the sky, falls, and passes leaving after itself a long, shiny tail.

   • 1790s, Giuseppe Parini, Notte [Night]; collected in Opere dell’abate Giuseppe Parini‎^[7], Venice: Giacomo Storti, 1803, page 167:

     […] Il debil raggio
     De le stelle remote, e de’ pianeti,
     Che nel silenzio camminando vanno
     Rompea gli orrori tuoi sol quanto è duopo
     A sentirli vie più. […]

     The faint ray of the faraway stars, and of the planets, which travel through the silence, stopped your horrors just as much as is needed to feel them even more.

   • 1810 [c. 8^th century BCE], “Libro XIX”, in Vincenzo Monti, transl., Iliade, translation of Ῑ̓λιάς (Īliás, Iliad) by Homer (in Epic Greek), lines 380–382; republished as Iliade di Omero‎^[8], 4^th edition, Milan: Società tipografica dei classici italiani, 1825:

     […] Stella parea
     Su la fronte il grand’elmo irto d’equine
     Chiome, […]

     [original: […] ἡ δ’ ἀστὴρ ὣς ἀπέλαμπεν
     ἵππουρις τρυφάλεια […]]

     […] hē d’ astḕr hṑs apélampen
     híppouris trupháleia […]

     […] The great helmet, fitted with horsehair, looked like a star on the forehead, […]

   • 1904, Luigi Pirandello, “Premessa seconda (filosofica) a mo' di scusa [Second (philosophical) introduction, as an apology]” (chapter 2), in Il fu Mattia Pascal [The Late Mattia Pascal]‎^[9]; new revised edition, Milan: Fratelli Treves Editori, 1919, page 8:

     Il che vuol dire, in fondo, che noi anche oggi crediamo che la luna non stia per altro nel cielo, che per farci lume di notte, come il sole di giorno, e le stelle per offrirci un magnifico spettacolo.

     Which—all things considered—means that we, to this day, believe that the moon is only in the sky to make light for us at night, like the sun during the day, and the stars to offer us an amazing spectacle.

2. (heraldry) star, mullet

Related terms

• stella alpina
• stella binaria
• stella filante
• stellante
• stellare
• stelletta
• stellina
• stelloncino
• stellone

 

Further reading

• stella in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• stella in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstel.la/
• Rhymes: -ella
• Hyphenation: stél‧la

Verb

stella

1. inflection of stellare (“to adorn with stars”):
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛl.la/
• Rhymes: -ɛlla
• Hyphenation: stèl‧la

Verb

stella

1. inflection of stellare (“to shape (the ribs of a ship's hull)”):
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• stalle

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *stērlā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr. Can be considered an assimilated version of *stērla, a diminutive form.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈsteːl.la/, [ˈs̠t̪eːlːʲä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈstel.la/, [ˈst̪ɛlːä]

Noun

stēlla f (genitive stēllae); first declension

1. (literal) a star; (poetic) a constellation
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 1.295–296:

     Quis vetat et stēllās, ut quaeque oriturque caditque, dīcere?

     And who forbids me to speak about the stars, how each one rises and sets?

   Synonyms: astēr, astrum, sīdus

   1. a wandering star, a planet

      Synonym: stēlla errāns

   2. a meteor, a shooting star
2. (transferred sense)
   1. a star shape, a figure of a star
   2. a bright point on a precious stone
   3. a starfish
   4. a glowworm
   5. a pupil of an eye

Inflection

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	stēlla	stēllae
Genitive	stēllae	stēllārum
Dative	stēllae	stēllīs
Accusative	stēllam	stēllās
Ablative	stēllā	stēllīs
Vocative	stēlla	stēllae

Derived terms

• Stēlla
• stēllifer
• stēlliger
• stēllimicāns
• stēlliō
• stēllula
• stēllāris
• stēllātus
• stēllō

 

Related terms

• stēllāns
• stēllāre
• stēllātūra

Descendants

Descendants of stella in other languages

• Emilian: strèla
• Italo-Dalmatian:
  • → Corsican: stella, stedda, stidda
  • Dalmatian: stala, stalla
  • Istriot: stila
  • Italian: stella, Stella
  • → Neapolitan: stella
    • Tarantino: stella
  • Sicilian: stiḍḍa, stidda; steḍḍa, stella
    • Maltese: stilla
• Navarro-Aragonese:
  • Aragonese: estrela
• Old French: estoile, esteile, estelle
  • Bourguignon: étoile
  • English: estoile, Estella, Estelle
  • Gallo: esteill
  • Middle French: estoile
    • French: étoile
      • Haitian Creole: zetwal
      • Mauritian Creole: zetwal
      • Seychellois Creole: zetwal
      • → English: étoile, etoile
      • → Italian: étoile
  • Norman: êtaile, éteile, ételle, etel
  • Picard: étole
  • Walloon: stoele, sitoele
• Old Leonese:
  • Asturian: estrella
  • Extremaduran: estrella
  • Leonese: estrella
  • Mirandese: streilha
• Old Galician-Portuguese: estrela, strela
  • Galician: estrela
  • Portuguese: estrela, estrella
    • Guinea-Bissau Creole: strela
    • Kabuverdianu: strela
    • Kristang: strela
    • Saramaccan: teréja, teéja, teéa
• Old Spanish: estrella
  • Catalan: estrella
  • Ladino: estreya
  • Spanish: estrella
    • Papiamentu: strea
    • → Sardinian: streglia (Campidanese)
    • → Tagalog: estrelya
  • Spanish: Estrella
    • → Cebuano: Estrella
    • → English: Estrella
    • → Tagalog: Estrella
• Common Romanian:
  • Aromanian: steauã, steauo, stiau
  • Istro-Romanian: ste
  • Megleno-Romanian: steau̯ă
  • Romanian: stea
• Padanian:
  • Friulian: stele
  • Ladin: stëila
  • Lombard: stela
  • Ligurian: stela
  • Piedmontese: stèila, steila
  • Romansch: staila, steila, stéla
  • Venetian: steła
• Sardinian:
  • Campidanese: steddu, → stella
  • Gallurese: stedda, istella, → stella
  • Logudorese: isteddu
  • Nuorese: isteddu, istella
  • Sassarese: isthella, sthella
• Borrowings:
• → Danish: Stella
• → Dutch: Stella
• → English: stella, Stella
• → Esperanto: stelo
  • Ido: stelo
• → Faroese: Stella
• → German: Stella
• → Icelandic: Stella
• → Interlingua: stella
• → Interlingue: stelle
• → Novial: stele
• → Old Occitan: stella
  • Occitan: estela, estiala
  • Occitan: Estela
    • → French: Estelle
• → Spanish: Estela
• → Swedish: Stella
• → Volapük: stel

References

• “stella”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “stella”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• stella in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• stella in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[10], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the regular courses of the stars: motus stellarum constantes et rati
    
  • the planets: stellae errantes, vagae
    
  • the fixed stars: stellae inerrantes (N. D. 2. 21. 54)
    

Lombard

Alternative forms

• stèlla (Classical Milanese Orthography)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛla/

Noun

stella f

1. star

Further reading

• The entry "stella" at the Lombard edition of Wiktionary

Neapolitan

Etymology

From Latin stēlla.

Noun

stella f (plural stelle)

1. star

Descendants

• Tarantino: stella

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin stella, from Proto-Italic *stērlā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr.

Noun

stella f (oblique plural stellas, nominative singular stella, nominative plural stellas)

1. star

Descendants

• Occitan: estela, estiala
• Occitan: Estela
  • → French: Estelle

Sardinian

Etymology

From Latin stēlla, from Proto-Italic *stērlā, a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr, derived from the root *h₂eh₁s- (“to burn”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛlla/

Noun

stella f (plural stellas)

1. (Campidanese) star

   Synonyms: steddu, streglia

stella f (plural stelli)

1. (Gallurese) star

   Synonyms: istella, stedda

Tarantino

Etymology

From Neapolitan stella, Latin stella, from Proto-Italic *stērlā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr.

Noun

stella

1. star