Hypertext Webster Gateway: "asterism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Asterism \As`ter*ism\, n. [Gr. ?, fr. 'asth`r star; cf. F.
ast['e]risme.]
1. (Astron.)
(a) A constellation. [Obs.]
(b) A small cluster of stars.
2. (Printing)
(a) An asterisk, or mark of reference. [R.]
(b) Three asterisks placed in this manner, [asterism], to
direct attention to a particular passage.
3. (Crystallog.) An optical property of some crystals which
exhibit a star-shaped by reflected light, as star
sapphire, or by transmitted light, as some mica.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
asterism
n 1: (mineralogy) a six-rayed star-shaped figure seen in some
crystal structures under reflected or transmitted light
2: (astronomy) a cluster of stars (or a small constellation)
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