North Star

English

Etymology

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

Proper noun

North Star

1. (astronomy) The current northern pole star, the star nearest the northern celestial pole, which has been Polaris for the last 1500 years.
2. A village in 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.

Synonyms

• (star near the northern celestial pole): Pole Star, Lode Star

Hyponyms

• (star near the northern celestial pole): Polaris, Alpha Ursae Minoris, α Ursae Minoris (c. 500–present); Kochab, Beta Ursae Minoris, β Ursae Minoris (c. 1000 BC – AD 300); Pherkad, Gamma Ursae Minoris, γ Ursae Minoris (c. 1000 BC – AD 300); Kappa Draconis, κ Draconis (historical, c. 1793–1000 BC); Thuban, Alpha Draconis, α Draconis (historical, c. 3942–1793 BC)

Derived terms

• Fairbanks North Star Borough

Translations

star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris,‎ Thuban

• Breton: Sterenn (br) f, Steredenn an Norzh f, Sterenn an Norzh f, Steredenn an Hanternoz f, Steredenn ar Vartoloded f, Sterenn Greiznoz f, Sterenn ar C'hreiznoz f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 北極星 / 北极星 (zh) (Běijíxīng), 北辰 (zh) (běichén) (poetic)

• Chukchi: Унпэӈэр (Unpėṇėr)
• Czech: Polárka (cs) f, Severka f
• Esperanto: Norda Stelo
• Finnish: Pohjantähti (fi)
• French: Étoile polaire f, Étoile du Nord f
• German: Polarstern (de) m
• Greek: Πολικός Αστέρας m (Polikós Astéras)
• Hawaiian: Hōkūpaʻa
• Hungarian: Sarkcsillag (hu)
• Italian: stella polare f
• Japanese: 北極星 (ja) (ほっきょくせい, Hokkyokusei)
• Khmer: ផ្កាយមេរុ (phkaaymeiruʼ)
• Korean: 북극성(北極星) (bukgeukseong)
• Kurdish:
  • Northern Kurdish: Qurix (ku), Qunbere
• Lao: ດາວເໜືອ (dāo nư̄a)
• Manchu: ᡥᠠᡩᠠᡥᠠ
  ᡠᠰᡳᡥᠠ (hadaha usiha), ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ
  ᡨᡝᠨ ᡳ
  ᡠᠰᡳᡥᠠ (abkai ten-i usiha)
• Navajo: náhookǫs bikǫʼ
• Persian: میخگاه (mixgâh)
• Polish: Gwiazda Polarna f, Gwiazda Biegunowa f
• Portuguese: Estrela Polar f
• Russian: Поля́рная звезда́ (ru) f (Poljárnaja zvezdá)
• Sanskrit: ध्रुव नक्षत्र m (dhruva nakṣatra)
• Scottish Gaelic: A' Bhàrr-reult f, An Reul-iùil f
• Southern Altai: Алтын казык (Altïn kazïk)
• Swedish: polstjärna (sv) c
• Thai: ดาวเหนือ (th)
• Turkish: Kutup Yıldızı (tr)
• Uyghur: شىمالىي قۇتۇپ يۇلتۇزى (shimaliy qutup yultuzi)
• Yup'ik: agyarrlak

Noun

North Star (plural North Stars)

1. (figurative) An aim or a goal, a dependable guiding light in a quickly changing world.
   • 2012, Darrin Grinder, Steve Shaw, The Presidents & Their Faith:

     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.

   • 2018, Frank M. Guttman, Honoré Beaugrand: a Traditional “Rouge”?:

     His North Star was Rome, his compass was the Holy Office, “My polar star is Rome; my compass is the Holy Office.”

   • 2019, Karen A. McClintock, When Trauma Wounds: Pathways to Healing and Hope, page 155:

     Believing that he would return to life when he was ready, she became his North Star.

   • 2021, Ashley Stahl, You Turn, page 272:

     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.

Derived terms

• NSM

Further reading

• Polaris on Wikipedia.Wikipedia