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• Star of Bethlehem
  Star of Bethlehem

  noun

  the star that guided the Magi to the manger of the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. Matthew 2:1–10.
• star-of-Bethlehem
  star-of-Bethlehem

  noun

  any of several plants belonging to the genus Ornithogalum, of the lily family, having grasslike leaves and clusters of white flowers.

Star of Bethlehem

¹ American  

noun

1. the star that guided the Magi to the manger of the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. Matthew 2:1–10.

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star-of-Bethlehem ² American  

[stahr-uhv-beth-lee-uhm, -li-hem] / ˈstɑr əvˈbɛθ li əm, -lɪˌhɛm /

noun

stars-of-Bethlehem plural

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Ornithogalum, of the lily family, having grasslike leaves and clusters of white flowers.

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star-of-Bethlehem ¹ British  

noun

1. Also called: starflower.  a Eurasian liliaceous plant, Ornithogalum umbellatum , naturalized in the eastern US, having narrow leaves and starlike white flowers

2. any of several similar and related plants

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Star of Bethlehem ² British  

noun

1. the star that is supposed to have appeared above Bethlehem at the birth of Christ

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• stars-of-Bethlehem
  plural

Etymology

Origin of star-of-Bethlehem

First recorded in 1565–75

Example Sentences

Leonardo could bring a steely exactitude and transparent freshness of observation to a botanical drawing, like the star-of-Bethlehem plant that he drew as a study for his lost painting of Leda and the swan.

From Time Magazine Archive