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lodestar

or load·star

[lohd-stahr]
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noun
  1. a star that shows the way.
  2. Polaris.
  3. something that serves as a guide or on which the attention is fixed.
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Origin of lodestar

First recorded in 1325–75, lodestar is from the Middle English word loode sterre. See lode, star
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lodestar

Historical Examples

  • Since I have known you, you have been the lodestar of my existence, the fountain of my inspiration.

    Happy Days

    Alan Alexander Milne

  • Every man must have a woman as a lodestar; you are to be that to me.

  • What do they say up in the carbonate camp about the Lodestar business?

    The Helpers

    Francis Lynde

  • And find what lodestar there draws Chartrien From constancy?

  • You hold me as the lodestar holds the iron: I cannot but cling to you.

    Dark Lady of the Sonnets

    George Bernard Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for lodestar

lodestar

loadstar

noun
  1. a star, esp the North Star, used in navigation or astronomy as a point of reference
  2. something that serves as a guide or model
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Word Origin

C14: literally, guiding star. See lode
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 lodestar

n.

late 14c. (late 13c. as a surname), an old name for the pole star (cf. Old Norse leiðarstjarna) as the star that "leads the way" in navigation; from lode (n.) + star (n.). Figurative use from late 14c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
lodestar in Science

lodestar

  1. A star, especially Polaris, that is used as a point of reference.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.