starset means the time of day or night when a given star disappears below the horizon. It carries an Arena rating of 1590, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, starset ranks #292 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #943 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,419 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #1,597 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “starset” is a great word
The moment a specific star disappears below the horizon. From star + set, by analogy with sunset and moonset. Unlike sunset, which marks the dramatic, singular departure of our local star, or nightfall, which describes the diffuse, general arrival of darkness, starset is a quiet, particular exit. It is the precise instant Vega is extinguished by a ridge of black pines, the last glimmer of Antares swallowed by a hillside, the astronomer's notebook recording the exact minute a point of light surrenders to the curvature of the earth—each distant sun keeping its own solitary appointment with the turning world.
Etymology
From star + set, by analogy with sunset and moonset.
noun
- The time of day or night when a given star disappears below the horizon.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- starrise 78% match — The time of day or night when a given star appears above the horizon. vs starset →
- earthset 66% match — The event of the Earth setting under the horizon of another celestial body, typically the Moon (typically due to the observer being in motion over the surface of the Moon: see usage notes at earthrise). vs starset →
- sunset 62% match — The moment each evening when the sun disappears below the western horizon. vs starset →
- moonset 60% match — The setting of the moon below the horizon. vs starset →
- starfall 59% match — A great number of stars descending downward within outer space or the atmosphere; a meteor shower. vs starset →
- sunsetting 57% match — An instance of the sun setting; a sunset. vs starset →
- darkfall 57% match — The time of day when it becomes dark. vs starset →
- duskside 56% match — The side of a planet or other body that is experiencing sunset, a transition from day to night. vs starset →