Explanation
The asterisk: typographic symbol and its use in textual criticism
The asterisk (*), a typographic symbol representing a stylized star, is primarily used to indicate footnotes and, in classical textual criticism, to mark duplications or problematic passages.
Definition and form
The asterisk is a typographic symbol consisting of a stylized image of a star. In print it usually has five or six points, while when written by hand it presents six or eight points, although more complex forms exist. Its most common use is to draw attention to a footnote. It is often vocalized as «star», especially among computer scientists and mathematicians, as seen in the A* search algorithm or in C* algebra.
Etymology and pronunciation
The English term «asterisk» comes from Late Latin «asteriscus», in turn derived from Ancient Greek ἀστερίσκος (asteriskos), which means «little star». It is sometimes pronounced as if it were «astericks» or «asterix» due to a process called metathesis. This variation has led some people to erroneously infer that «astericks» is the plural of a singular «asterick». A 2014 survey by the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language found that 24% of panelists considered the pronunciation «asterix» acceptable and 19% that of «asterick», although only 7% and 6% preferred them, respectively.
Historical origin in textual criticism
A hypothesis about the origin of the asterisk for marking notes suggests that it comes from the 5,000-year-old Sumerian character «dingir» (𒀭), although this hypothesis seems to be based only on visual appearance. The asterisk was one of several symbols developed by scholars of Homeric poetry in the Library of Alexandria more than 2,000 years ago. Zenodotus, the first librarian of the Museum of Alexandria, used the obelus, a symbol placed in the margins to indicate a line considered apocryphal. A later librarian, Aristophanes, continued the use of the obelus along with other textual annotations, such as a small star for passages that made no sense. Aristarchus of Samothrace, student and successor of Aristophanes, introduced a formal system of textual criticism marks that included the obelus, the asterisk, and other Aristarchean symbols. Aristarchus used the asterisk to mark lines that were duplicated elsewhere, and the combination of asterisk and obelus to indicate lines considered apocryphal duplications. Origen is known for later using the asterisk to mark missing Hebrew lines in his Hexapla.
Use in the Middle Ages and printing
In the Middle Ages, the asterisk (along with other symbols such as the manicule) was used to emphasize a particular part of a text, often linking those parts to a marginal commentary. The asterisk was frequently used to indicate footnotes in the era of printed media.
Modern applications: censorship and sports
In censorship, asterisks are often used to replace letters to soften expletives. For example, the word «badword» could become «ba***rd», «b*****d» or «*******». Vowels tend to be censored with asterisks more than consonants, but the intelligibility of censored multi-syllabic profanities is greater if placed in context with the surrounding text. In comics, a complete swear word can be replaced with a «grawlix», a string of typographic symbols indicating an undefined profanity. Asterisks are a method used to redact non-public information; when a document containing classified information is published, it may be redacted or «sanitized» by replacing the classified information with asterisks. In competitive sports, an asterisk attached to a record indicates that it is somehow «tainted» or questioned. This usage arose during the 1961 baseball season, when Roger Maris threatened to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Commissioner Ford C. Frick announced that if Maris needed more than 154 games, both records would be recognized, but a «distinctive mark» would be placed next to Maris's. The asterisk as such a mark was suggested at that time by sports columnist Dick Young of the New York Daily News, not by Frick.
Sources and method
This story synthesises the references below and separates possible observations from conclusions that would need more evidence. It does not present original FaunaGuide fieldwork or replace expert identification.
- Asterisk — Typographical symbol (*) *o Asterisk In UnicodeU+002A * ASTERISK (*, *) Related See alsoU+203B ※ REFERENCE MARK (komejirushi) U+A673 ꙳ SLAVONIC ASTERISK Look up * or asterisk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. The asterisk (/ˈæstərɪsk/), *, is