The original Greek word meaning 'little star,' from which the English word asterisk derives.
From Greek asteriskos, a diminutive form of aster ('star'). The -iskos suffix is a Greek diminutive, making it literally 'starlet' or 'little star,' which inspired the symbol's shape in medieval manuscripts.
The original Greek word shows how the asterisk symbol's name is perfectly literal—it's called a 'little star' because it looks like one! This is one of the few punctuation marks whose name actually describes its appearance.
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