ASTERISK

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, astarisc, from Late Latin asteriscus, from Greek ~os, literally, little star, diminutive of aster-, astēr Date: 14th century the character * used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words, to denote a hypothetical or unattested linguistic form, or for various arbitrary meanings, ~less adjective II. transitive verb Date: circa 1733 to mark with an ~ ; star