pole star

See also: polestar, pole-star, and Pole Star

English

WOTD – 29 April 2023

Etymology

Earth’s current pole star (sense 1), Polaris or α Ursae Minoris, surrounded by a faint integrated flux nebula.

From pole (“either of the two points on the Earth’s surface around which it rotates; similar points on any other rotating object”) +‎ star, possibly a calque of Latin stēllam polārem (“the Pole Star”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpəʊl stɑː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpoʊl ˌstɑɹ/

Noun

pole star (plural pole stars)

2. (astronomy) The star visible to the naked eye which was in the past, is now, or will be in the future nearest a celestial pole of a planet.

   Synonyms: polar star, (obsolete) pole arctic

   Polaris is currently the pole star of planet Earth.

   • 1837 August 31, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar. An Oration Delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at Cambridge, August 31, 1837.”, in J[ames] E[lliot] Cabot, editor, Nature, Addresses, and Lectures (Emerson’s Complete Works; I), Riverside edition, London: The Waverley Book Company, published 1883, →OCLC, page 84:

     Who can doubt that poetry will revive and lead in a new age, as the star in the constellation Harp, which now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the pole-star for a thousand years?

3. (figuratively) A person, principle, or thing which acts as a guide; a guiding light; also, something which attracts much attention; a centre of attention.

   Synonyms: cynosure, guide star, guiding star, lodestar

   • 1817, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Letter II. (To a Lady.)”, in Biographia Literaria; or Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions, volume II, London: Rest Fenner […], →OCLC, pages 214–215:

     But it [our hotel] has one great advantage for a stranger, by being in the market place, and the next neighbour of the huge church of St. Nicholas: […] A better pole-star could scarcely be desired.

   • 1889 June–November, Hall Caine, “Strong Knots of Love”, in The Bondman. A New Saga. […], volume II (The Book of Michael Sunlocks), London: William Heinemann, published January 1890, →OCLC, page 118:

     Love was her pole-star. What was Jason's? Only the blankness of despair.

Usage notes

Regarding sense 1, due to the precession of the equinoxes, Earth’s northern pole star—which is currently Polaris—was a different star in the past and will be a different star in the future. There is presently no southern pole star.

Alternative forms

• polestar, pole-star

Related terms

• lodestar, north star, North Star

Translations

star visible to the naked eye which was, is, or will be nearest a celestial pole of a planet

• Afrikaans: poolster
• Asturian: estrella polar f
• Bengali: ধ্রুবতারা (bn) (dhrubtara)
• Bulgarian: полярната звезда f (poljarnata zvezda)
• Catalan: estel polar m
• Cherokee: ᏧᏴᏢ ᏗᎧᎸ ᏃᏈᏏ (tsuyvtlv dikalv noquisi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極星／极星 (zh) (jíxīn)

• Czech: polární hvězda f, polárka (cs) f
• Dutch: poolster (nl), leidstar, leidster (nl)
• Finnish: napatähti
• French: étoile polaire (fr) f
• Friulian: stele tramontane f
• Galician: estrela polar f
• German: Polarstern (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: πόλος m (pólos)

• Hebrew: כּוֹכַב הַצָּפוֹן (he) m (kokháv hatsafón)
• Hindi: ध्रुव तारा (dhruv tārā)
• Hungarian: sarkcsillag (hu)
• Icelandic: pólstjarna (is) f
• Ido: polo-stelo
• Indonesian: bintang kutub
• Italian: stella polare f
• Japanese: 極星 (ja) (きょくせい, kyoku sei)
• Korean: 극성 (ko) (geukseong)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
• Malay: bintang kutub
• Malayalam: ധ്രുവനക്ഷത്രം (dhruvanakṣatraṁ)
• Marathi: ध्रुव तारा (dhruv tārā)
• Polish: gwiazda polarna f
• Portuguese: estrela polar f
• Punjabi: ਧਰੂ ਤਾਰਾ (dharū tārā)
• Romanian: stea polară f
• Russian: поляри́ссима (poljaríssima)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: please add this translation if you can

  Roman: polarna zvijézda f

• Spanish: estrella polar f
• Swedish: polstjärna (sv) c
• Tamil: துருவ நட்சத்திரம் (turuva naṭcattiram)
• Thai: ดาวเหนือ (th)
• Ukrainian: поляриссима (poljaryssyma)
• Welsh: seren y gogledd f
• West Frisian: poalstjer

person, principle, or thing which acts as a guide — see also guiding light

• Bulgarian: пътеводна звезда (pǎtevodna zvezda)
• Dutch: leidstar, leidster (nl), ^{(please verify)} richtinggevend beginsel , ^{(please verify)} richtinggevend principe n
• Finnish: johtotähti
• Hungarian: vezércsillag (hu), vezérelv (hu)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

something which attracts much attention — see centre of attention

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} ధృవ నక్షత్రం (dhr̥va nakṣatraṁ)

Further reading

• pole star on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “pole star, n.”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “pole star, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.
• “pole star, n.”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• LaPortes, Laportes, Plateros, Portales, Portelas, patroles, petrosal, portsale, prolates