stellate · adj — shaped like a star, having points, or rays radiating from a center. It carries an Arena rating of 1856, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, stellate ranks #587 of 17,162 for Most Elegant Words, #669 of 17,172 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,057 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words, #2,479 of 17,167 for Most Vivid Words.
stellate is pronounced /ˈstɛl.eɪt/.
Why “stellate” is a great word
Shaped like a star, having points or rays radiating from a center. From the Latin stēlla ("star") + the adjectival suffix -ātus ("-ate"), via Latin stēllātus ("starry"). First attested in English c. 1500. Unlike "stellar" (which pertains to celestial bodies or excellence) or "stelliform" (a rarer, more technical synonym), "stellate" is the common, precise word for earthly, radial geometry. It is the open palm of a maple leaf's veins, the spiked symmetry of a sea urchin's test, and the brittle, branching fracture in a winter's pane of ice—each a terrestrial echo of a celestial form, a borrowed pattern written in the very grammar of growth and rupture.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin stēllātus (“starry”), from stēlla (“star”) + -ātus (“-ate”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to stell(a) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
adj
- Shaped like a star, having points, or rays radiating from a center.e.g.“stellate cells”
verb
- To extend the edges or planes of a polyhedron to form a new shape.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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