Arcturus

[ ahrk-toor-uhs, -tyoor- ]

nounAstronomy.
  1. a first-magnitude star in the constellation Boötes.

Origin of Arcturus

1
1352–75; <Latin <Greek Arktoûros, equivalent to árkt(os) bear + -oûros keeper; replacing Middle English arture<Middle French

Other words from Arcturus

  • Arc·tu·ri·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Arcturus in a sentence

  • It was forty feet long, eight wide, and eight high; the tank containing the Arcturian back rays was in front, the car behind.

    A Voyage to Arcturus | David Lindsay
  • They are of a spectral type approximately solar; no Orion, Sirian or Arcturian stars having been found among them.

    Astronomical Curiosities | J. Ellard Gore
  • For twenty-four hours on that Arcturian planet, I would give my life.

    A Voyage to Arcturus | David Lindsay
  • It was a gentle dig at his Arcturian homeland, which was smaller than most planets.

    Youth | Isaac Asimov

British Dictionary definitions for Arcturus

Arcturus

/ (ɑːkˈtjʊərəs) /


noun
  1. the brightest star in the constellation Boötes: a red giant. Visual magnitude: –0.4; spectral type: K2III; distance: 37 light years

Origin of Arcturus

1
C14: from Latin, from Greek Arktouros, from arktos bear + ouros guard, keeper

Derived forms of Arcturus

  • Arcturian, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Arcturus

Arcturus

[ ärk-turəs ]


  1. A giant star in the constellation Boötes. It is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere and the fourth brightest star in the sky, with an apparent magnitude of 0.00. Scientific name: Alpha Boötes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.