aster
[as-ter]
- any composite plant of the genus Aster, having rays varying from white or pink to blue around a yellow disk.
- a plant of some allied genus, as the China aster.
- Cell Biology. a structure formed in a cell during mitosis, composed of astral rays radiating about the centrosome.
- Furniture. sunflower(def 2).
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Origin of aster
-aster1
- a diminutive or pejorative suffix denoting something that imperfectly resembles or mimics the true thing: criticaster; poetaster, oleaster.
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Origin of -aster1
From Latin
-aster2
- Chiefly Biology. a combining form with the meaning “star,” used in the formation of compound words: diaster.
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Origin of -aster2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for aster
Historical Examples
They claim it both suits the Aster and helps to keep off root-lice.
The Mayflower, January, 1905Various
The Aster will stand more in the way of lifting than any other plant I know.
The Mayflower, January, 1905Various
Root-lice, blue aphis, etc., is one of the most common enemies of the Aster.
The Mayflower, January, 1905Various
No one but an artist should attempt to describe an Aster's colors.
The Mayflower, January, 1905Various
Even in our mother's day it was still called the China Aster.
The Mayflower, January, 1905Various
aster
- any plant of the genus Aster, having white, blue, purple, or pink daisy-like flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)Compare golden aster
- China aster a related Chinese plant, Callistephus chinensis, widely cultivated for its showy brightly coloured flowers
- cytology a group of radiating microtubules that surrounds the centrosome before and during mitosis
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Word Origin
C18: from New Latin, from Latin aster star, from Greek
-aster
- a person or thing that is inferior or bears only a poor resemblance to what is specifiedpoetaster
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Word Origin
from Latin: suffix indicating imperfect resemblance
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
Word Origin and History for aster
n.
flower genus, 1706, from Latin aster "star" (see star (n.)); so called for the radiate heads of the flowers. Originally used in English in the Latin sense (c.1600) but this is obsolete.
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-aster
word-forming element expressing incomplete resemblance (e.g. poetaster), usually diminutive and deprecatory, from Latin, from Greek -aster, suffix originally forming nouns from verbs ending in -azein, later generalized as a pejorative suffix, e.g. Greek patraster "he who plays the father."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
aster
(ăs′tər)Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.