Word of the Day

: January 17, 2009

stellar

adjective STEL-er

What It Means

1 a : of or relating to the stars : astral

b : composed of stars

2 a : principal, leading

b : outstanding

stellar in Context

Margie's clothing company is a stellar example of a business that successfully models civic responsibility without sacrificing the bottom line.

Did You Know?

"Stella," the Latin word for "star," shines brightly in the word "constellation," but "stella" words have been favored by scientists to describe earthly things as much as heavenly bodies. "Stellar" was once used to mean "star-shaped." That use is no longer current, but today biologists and geologists might use one of thesesynonyms: "stellular," "stellate," and "stelliform." Poets, too, have looked to "stella." John Milton used "stellar" in its infancy when he wrote in Paradise Lost: "these soft fires … shed down their stellar virtue." "Stellar" shot into its leading role as a synonym of "star" (as when we say "stellar pupil") in the late 1800s.