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star

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Appendix:Variations of "star"

English

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Stars (1, 2).
A star shape (3).

Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs-
Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr
Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr
Proto-Germanic *sternǭ
Proto-West Germanic *sternō
Proto-West Germanic *sterrō
Old English steorra
Middle English sterre
English star

    From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster; related to estoile, étoile, stella, and stelo.

    Cognates

    Cognate with Scots starn, ster (“star”), Yola starr, steor (“star”), Saterland Frisian Stiern (“star”), West Frisian stjer (“star”), Cimbrian stèrn (“star”), Dutch ster (“star”), German Stern (“star”), Luxembourgish Stär (“star”), Mòcheno stern (“star”), Vilamovian śtaom (“star”), Yiddish שטערן (shtern, “star”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål stjerne (“star”), Faroese stjørna (“star”), Gutnish stjännå (“star”), Icelandic stjarna (“star”), Norwegian Nynorsk skjødna, stjerne (“star”), Swedish stjärna (“star”), Crimean Gothic stein (“star”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō, “star”), French étoile (“star”), Istriot stila (“star”), Istro-Romanian ste (“star”), Italian stella (“star”), Megleno-Romanian steau̯ă (“star”), Mirandese streilha (“star”), Occitan estela (“star”), Portuguese estrela (“star”), Romansh staila (“star”), Romanian stea (“star”), Sardinian isteddu (“star”), Sicilian stidda (“star”), Spanish estrella (“star”), Venetan stéła (“star”), Walloon sitoele (“star”), Latin stēlla (“star”), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”), Greek αστέρι (astéri, “star”), Old Armenian աստղ (astł, “star”), Persian ستاره (setâre, “star”), Tajik ситора (sitora, “star”), Pashto ستوری (storay, “star”), Mazanderani اساره (ëssâre, “star”), Northern Kurdish stêr (“star”), Central Kurdish ئەستێرە (estêre, “star”), Zazaki astare (“star”), Ossetian стъалы (st’aly, “star”), Hindi तारा (tārā, “star”), Urdu تارا (tārā, “star”), Punjabi ਤਾਰਾ (tārā, “star”), Gujarati તારો (tāro, “star”), Sanskrit तारा (tārā, “star”).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    star (plural stars)

    2. Any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.
      He loved watching the stars in the sky with her.
      1. (astrology, typically in the plural) A planet thought to influence one's fate; (figuratively) fate or luck.
        What's in the stars for you today? Find out in our horoscope.
        star-crossed (meaning 'ill-fated')
    4. (astronomy) A very massive ball of plasma with strong enough gravity to have ongoing fusion of hydrogen or heavier elements in its core. In strict technical usage, the Sun is included.
    5. senses derived from the apparent shape of a star in the sky when blurred by the eyes to have streaks
      1. A shape made of a few streaks meeting at a shared midpoint.
        1. (printing) An asterisk (*) or comparable symbol (e.g., ★, ☆, ✶, ✦, ✧, ✷, ✪, ⭐) inspired by a celestial star.
          • 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:
            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.
        2. (networking, figurative in origin) A network topology with multiple computers individually merging to one central switch, thus free of risk of collisions. A single point of failure can occur if the switch experiences corruption.
        3. A simple dance, or part of a dance, where a group of four dancers each put their right or left hand in the middle and turn around in a circle. You call them right-hand stars or left-hand stars, depending on the hand which is in the middle.
      2. (shapes, geometry) A concave polygon with regular, pointy protrusions and indentations, usually with four, five, or six points.
        1. A star-shaped ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honour in a military. Now often used metonymically for military rankings.
          three-star general
        2. A symbol used to rate hotels, films, etc. with a higher number of stars denoting better quality.
          • 2025 August 25, Kelefa Sanneh, “How Music Criticism Lost Its Edge”, in The New Yorker‎[1], →ISSN:
            And the first music review I remember reading was in Rolling Stone, which rated albums on a scale of one to five stars, or so I thought. In 1990, the début solo album by Andrew Ridgeley, who had sung alongside George Michael in the pop duo Wham!, was awarded only half a star.
    6. senses relating to fame
      2. (acting) An actor in a leading role.
        Many Hollywood stars attended the launch party.
      4. An exceptionally talented or famous person, often in a specific field; a celebrity.
        His teacher tells us he is a star pupil.
        I met my favourite star at the public event.
        • 1862, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret:
          The king who had worn her colours was dead and gone; the court of which she had been a star had passed away; powerful functionaries and great magistrates, who might perhaps have helped her, were mouldering in their graves; […]
        • 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, “The Shadow of the Bat”, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 8:
          Star reporter, leg-man, cub, veteran gray in the trade—one and all they tried to pin the Bat like a caught butterfly to the front page of their respective journals—soon or late each gave up, beaten. He was news— […] —the brief, staccato recital of his career in the morgues of the great dailies grew longer and more incredible each day.
        • 2026 May, Sam Cochran, “Feeling Zen”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 100:
          Known for an unerring attention to detail, poetic use of materials, and intuitive sensitivity to scale, Thulstrup has long been a star in his native Denmark.
      5. (figurative) (Someone's) success or fame.
        someone's star is rising / has risen
        • 2019 September 17, Edward Snowden, Permanent Record, New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN:
          It’s only in hindsight that I’m able to appreciate just how high my star had risen. I’d gone from being the student who couldn’t speak in class to being the teacher of the language of a new age, from the child of modest, middle-class Beltway parents to the man living the island life and making so much money that it had lost its meaning.
    7. (Jamaica, MLE, African-American Vernacular, by extension) A friend, a mate, a pal.
      • 2003, Michael Maynard, Games Men Play, page 127:
        "Wha'ppen, star!" Hector said, grinning to reveal a gold-capped tooth. He told everyone it was solid twenty-four carat, but if it was, he would have wrenched it out with pliers to pawn to the highest bidder by now.
      • 2003, “Soap Bar”, in The Manifesto‎[2], performed by Goldie Looking Chain:
        Hello claat, what you doing spar? […] It's got three ring tones, that's the name for the ring. There's this one, right (ring tone sounds). That's fucking safe, spar. But mostly, I bought it for this, check this one out, claat!
      • 2017, Les Back, New Ethnicities and Urban Culture: Racisms and Multiculture in Young Lives‎[3]:
        Switches character to the street-wise Ragamuffin, speaking out of the corner of his mouth in Creole: "Whappen now star! Seckle, seckle now people! Cool, cool na baass! [what is happening friends? Settle down]
      • 2022, Moses McKenzie, An Olive Grove in Ends‎[4]:
        'Dey ain't mine,' Stacey snapped, flicking her head towards the yutes in the bedroom. 'I'm juss lookin after dem fi mi fren dem. I only av six pickney by tree men enuh, star.'
    8. A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.

    Usage notes

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    • In traditional use, the planets are stars but the sun is not; in astronomy, the sun is a star but the planets are not (and the Earth is counted among the planets).

    Synonyms

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    Hypernyms

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    Hyponyms

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    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    • Sranan Tongo: stari
      • Aukan: sitali
    • → Finnish: stara
    • → French: star
    • → German: Star
    • → Hungarian: sztár
    • → Italian: star
    • → Swahili: staa

    Translations

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    See star/translations § Noun.

    See also

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    Verb

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    star (third-person singular simple present stars, present participle starring, simple past and past participle starred)

    1. (intransitive) To appear as a featured performer or headliner, especially in an entertainment program.
      She starred in dozens of silent movies.
      • 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
        I was inundated with invitations; […] I felt, indeed, much as a great actor must when he goes 'starring' in the provinces.
    2. (transitive) To feature (a performer or a headliner), especially in a movie or an entertainment program.
      The show stars Calista Flockhart as a high-powered lawyer.
      • 2004, David W. Menefee, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, page 4:
        "What followed this decision was exactly what we had expected: Mr. Fox, realizing that the public was tiring of Theda Bara in vampire roles, announced that he would star her in a production of Romeo and Juliet," she illustrated.
    3. (transitive) To mark with a star or asterisk.
    4. (transitive) To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle.
    5. (intransitive) To shine like a star.

    Synonyms

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    Translations

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    See also

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    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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    Dutch

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    Etymology

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    From Middle Dutch star, from Old Dutch *star, from Proto-West Germanic *star, from Proto-Germanic *staraz.

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    star (comparative starder, superlative starst)

    1. stiff, frozen
    2. rigid

    Declension

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    Declension of star
    uninflected star
    inflected starre
    comparative starder
    positive comparative superlative
    predicative/adverbial star starder het starst
    het starste
    indefinite m./f. sing. starre stardere starste
    n. sing. star starder starste
    plural starre stardere starste
    definite starre stardere starste
    partitive stars starders —

    Derived terms

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    Further reading

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    • “star” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

    French

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    Etymology

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      Borrowed from English star. Doublet of aster.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      star f (plural stars)

      1. star (celebrity)
        Elle est devenue star. ― She's become a star.

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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      Anagrams

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      Interlingua

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      Verb

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      star

      1. to stand
      2. to be doing (well, poorly, okay); to fare; to feel; to be in a certain state
        Como sta tu?
        How are you doing?
        Io sta ben, gratias, e tu?
        I'm doing well, thanks. How about you?

      Usage notes

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      This is not typically used for location.

      Italian

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      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ˈstar/
      • Rhymes: -ar
      • Hyphenation: stàr

      Etymology 1

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      Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia it

        Unadapted borrowing from English star.

        Noun

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        star f (invariable)

        1. star (celebrity)
          Synonyms: celebrità, divo
          star del cinema ― movie star
        2. (mathematics) asterisk, pronunciation of * symbol
          Near-synonym: asterisco

        Etymology 2

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        See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

        Verb

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        star (apocopated)

        1. apocopic form of stare

        Anagrams

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        Jamaican Creole

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        Noun

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        star (plural star dem, quantified star)

        1. A friend, a mate, a pal
          • 2008 August 26, “Kill Dem” (track 9), in Most Wanted‎[5], performed by Vybz Kartel:
            Me full ah gun pon di Gaza. Run some boy file and find out dem a barber. Jah know star, what dem ah try?
            I empty a gun on the Gaza. I run some boy's file and find out they're a barber. God knows mate, what are they trying to do?
          • 2009, “Whe Dem A Go Run Go”‎[6]performed by Vybz Kartel, 01:58-02:01:
            Whe dem a go run go, Whe dem a go run go star? Start way dem caan run go far.
            Where are they going to, where are they going to run to friend? They start to go away but they can’t get far (before getting shot).

        Maltese

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        Root
        s-t-r
        4 terms

        Alternative forms

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        Etymology

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          Inherited from Arabic سِتَار (sitār).

          Pronunciation

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          Noun

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          star m (plural stari)

          1. veil
            Synonym: (commoner) velu

          Middle English

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          Noun

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          star

          1. alternative form of sterre

          Mirandese

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          Etymology

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          Inherited from Latin stāre.

          Pronunciation

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          • IPA(key): /ˈs̺taɾ/ [ˈs̺t̪aɾ]
          • Rhymes: -aɾ
          • Syllabification: star

          Verb

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          star (first-person singular present stou, first-person singular preterite stube, past participle stado)

          1. to be (indicates a temporary state)

          Conjugation

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              Conjugation of star (irregular)
          infinitive star
          gerund stando
          past participle masculine feminine
          singular stado stada
          plural stados stadas
          singular plural
          1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
          personal non-finite you tu el/eilha nós bós eilhes/eilhas
          infinitive star stares star starmos stardes stáren
          indicative you tu el/eilha nós bós eilhes/eilhas
          present stou stas sta stamos stais stan
          imperfect staba stabas staba stábamos stábades stában
          preterite stube stubiste stubo stubimos stubistes stubírun
          pluperfect stubira stubiras stubira stubíramos stubírades stubíran
          future starei starás stará staremos stareis staran
          conditional starie staries starie stariemos stariedes starien
          subjunctive you tu el/eilha nós bós eilhes/eilhas
          present sté, steia stés, steias sté, steia stéiamos, stemos stéiades, stedes stéiaden, sten
          imperfect stubisse stubisses stubisse stubíssemos stubíssedes stubíssen
          future stubir stubires stubir stubirmos stubirdes stubíren
          imperative you tu el/eilha nós bós eilhes/eilhas
          affirmative — sta — — stai —

          See also

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          • ser (“to be”) (indicates a permanent quality)

          References

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          • Moisés, Pires (2004), “star”, in Pequeno vocabulário Mirandês-Português [Small Mirandese-Portuguese Vocabulary], 2nd edition, Miranda do Douro: Câmara Municipal de Miranda do Douro, published 2019, →ISBN, page 493.

          Northern Kurdish

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          Etymology

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          Akin to Central Kurdish ستار (star, “retire, retreat, take refuge”), originally a descendant of Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- but now conflated with Arabic سِتَار (sitār), hence the second sense. Proposed to be the name of an ancient deity by some based on the common expression "Ya Star!" ("O Star!", said to ask God for endurance and strength).

          Noun

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          star f

          1. standing, the ability to stand or stay at one's place, strength, energy; not worrying or being bored, calmness.
          2. protection, coverage

          Synonyms

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          • (the ability to stand, strength of legs, energy): qidûm

          Derived terms

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          Norwegian Nynorsk

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          Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
          Wikipedia nn

          Noun

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          star m (definite singular staren, indefinite plural starar, definite plural starane)

          1. alternative form of stare

          Noun

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          star m (definite singular staren, indefinite plural starar, definite plural starane)

          1. (pre-2012) alternative form of stær

          Portuguese

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          Verb

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          star (first-person singular present stou, first-person singular preterite stive, past participle stado)

          1. obsolete spelling of estar

          Conjugation

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          This entry needs an inflection-table template.

          Further reading

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          Romanian

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          Etymology

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          Etymology tree
          Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs-
          Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr
          Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr
          Proto-Germanic *sternǭ
          Proto-West Germanic *sternō
          Proto-West Germanic *sterrō
          Old English steorra
          Middle English sterre
          English starbor.
          Romanian star

            Borrowed from English star. Doublet of aster and stea.

            Noun

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            star n (plural staruri)

            1. star (famous person)

            Declension

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            singular plural
            indefinite definite indefinite definite
            nominative-accusative star starul staruri starurile
            genitive-dative star starului staruri starurilor
            vocative starule starurilor

            Sabir

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            Etymology

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            From Italian stare (“to be”).

            Verb

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            star

            1. to be

            References

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            • Feissat et Demonchy, Dictionnaire de la Langue Franque, ou Petit Mauresque

            Serbo-Croatian

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            Etymology

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            Inherited from Proto-Slavic *starъ.

            Pronunciation

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            Adjective

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            stȁr (Cyrillic spelling ста̏р, definite stȃrī, comparative stàrijī)

            1. old
              Antonym: mlȃd

            Declension

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            positive indefinite forms
            singular masculine feminine neuter
            nominative star stara staro
            genitive stara stare stara
            dative staru staroj staru
            accusative inanimate
            animate             		star
            stara                         		staru staro
            vocative star stara staro
            locative staru staroj staru
            instrumental starim starom starim
            plural masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stari stare stara
            genitive starih starih starih
            dative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
            accusative stare stare stara
            vocative stari stare stara
            locative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
            instrumental starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
            positive definite forms
            singular masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stari stara staro
            genitive starog(a) stare starog(a)
            dative starom(u/e) staroj starom(u/e)
            accusative inanimate
            animate             		stari
            starog(a)                         		staru staro
            vocative stari stara staro
            locative starom(e/u) staroj starom(e/u)
            instrumental starim starom starim
            plural masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stari stare stara
            genitive starih starih starih
            dative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
            accusative stare stare stara
            vocative stari stare stara
            locative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
            instrumental starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
            comparative forms
            singular masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stariji starija starije
            genitive starijeg(a) starije starijeg(a)
            dative starijem(u) starijoj starijem(u)
            accusative inanimate
            animate             		stariji
            starijeg(a)                         		stariju starije
            vocative stariji starija starije
            locative starijem(u) starijoj starijem(u)
            instrumental starijim starijom starijim
            plural masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stariji starije starija
            genitive starijih starijih starijih
            dative starijim(a) starijim(a) starijim(a)
            accusative starije starije starija
            vocative stariji starije starija
            locative starijim(a) starijim(a) starijim(a)
            instrumental starijim(a) starijim(a) starijim(a)
            superlative forms
            singular masculine feminine neuter
            nominative najstariji najstarija najstarije
            genitive najstarijeg(a) najstarije najstarijeg(a)
            dative najstarijem(u) najstarijoj najstarijem(u)
            accusative inanimate
            animate             		najstariji
            najstarijeg(a)                         		najstariju najstarije
            vocative najstariji najstarija najstarije
            locative najstarijem(u) najstarijoj najstarijem(u)
            instrumental najstarijim najstarijom najstarijim
            plural masculine feminine neuter
            nominative najstariji najstarije najstarija
            genitive najstarijih najstarijih najstarijih
            dative najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a)
            accusative najstarije najstarije najstarija
            vocative najstariji najstarije najstarija
            locative najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a)
            instrumental najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a)

            Derived terms

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            Further reading

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            • “star”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026
            • “star”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

            Slovene

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            Etymology

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            Inherited from Proto-Slavic *starъ.

            Pronunciation

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            Adjective

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            stȁr (comparative starȇjši, superlative nȁjstarȇjši)

            1. old, aged
              Antonym: mlad
              Star sem dvajset let. ― I'm twenty years old.

            Declension

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            Unknown tone or non-tonal
            		 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
            Hard
            masculine feminine neuter
            nom. sing. stàr stára stáro
            singular
            masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stàr ind
            stári def             		stára stáro
            genitive stárega stáre stárega
            dative stáremu stári stáremu
            accusative nominativeinan or
            genitive            anim             		stáro stáro
            locative stárem stári stárem
            instrumental stárim stáro stárim
            dual
            masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stára stári stári
            genitive stárih stárih stárih
            dative stárima stárima stárima
            accusative stára stári stári
            locative stárih stárih stárih
            instrumental stárima stárima stárima
            plural
            masculine feminine neuter
            nominative stári stáre stára
            genitive stárih stárih stárih
            dative stárim stárim stárim
            accusative stáre stáre stára
            locative stárih stárih stárih
            instrumental stárimi stárimi stárimi

            This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

            Derived terms

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            Further reading

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            • “star”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
            • “star”, in Termania, Amebis
            • See also the general references

            Venetan

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            Etymology

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            From Latin stāre. Compare Italian stare.

            Verb

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            star

            1. (transitive) to stay or remain
            2. (transitive) to live (somewhere)

            Conjugation

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            * Venetan conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

            Conjugation of star (first conjugation)
            infinitive star
            auxiliary verb èser gerund stando
            past participle stà
            person singular plural
            first second third first second third
            indicative mi ti eło / eła noialtri / noialtre voialtri / voialtre łuri / łore
            present sto (te) sti (el/ła) sta stémo, stòn sté (i/łe) sta
            imperfect stava (te) stavi (el/ła) stava stàvimo stavi (i/łe) stava
            future starò (te) starè (el/ła) starà starémo starè (i/łe) starà
            conditional starìa (te) starisi (el/ła) starìa starìsimo starisi (i/łe) starìa
            subjunctive che mi che ti che eło / eła che noialtri / noialtre che voialtri / voialtre che łuri / łore
            present ste, sta (te) sti (el/ła) ste, (el/ła) sta stémo, stone sté (i/łe) ste, (i/łe) sta
            imperfect stase (te) stasi (el/ła) stase stàsimo stasi (i/łe) stase
            imperative — ti eło / eła noialtri / noialtre voialtri / voialtre łuri / łore
            — (te) sta (el/ła) sta, (el/ła) ste stémo sté (i/łe) sta, (i/łe) ste
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