Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lodestar” come from?

lodestar (English) comes from English star, from Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra, from Proto-West Germanic sterrō, from Proto-Germanic sternô, from Proto-Indo-European h₂stḗr, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eHs- — to be/become dry; to burn, to glow; hearth.

lodestar (English): A star used as a navigation reference,...

Definitions

  1. A star used as a navigation reference,...

Ancestry of “lodestar”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstarAny small luminous dot appearing in the cloudless...
2Middle Englishsterrestar
3Old Englishsteorrastar
4Proto-West Germanicsterrō—
5Proto-Germanicsternô—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂stḗrstar
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eHs-to be/become dry; to burn, to glow; hearth
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eHs- →