What does "betelgeuse" mean?
A bright-red supergiant intrinsic variable star, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion; Alpha (α) Orionis. It is the tenth brightest star in the nighttime, and one of the largest stars known.
Betelgeuse
/ˈbidlˌdʒus/ name
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A bright-red supergiant intrinsic variable star, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion; Alpha (α) Orionis. It is the tenth brightest star in the nighttime, and one of the largest stars known.
- Grammar: betelgeuse is listed as name.
- Nearest alternatives: celestial body, character, entity, ghost.
- Usage evidence: Last August, astronomers, using the Hubble Space Telescope to observe Betelgeuse, found evidence that the star was ejecting so much material into space that it formed a dust cloud, which blocked all light coming from its surface.
How to use "betelgeuse"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "betelgeuse" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Check whether "betelgeuse" is acting as name in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A bright-red supergiant intrinsic variable star, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion; Alpha (α) Orionis. It is the tenth brightest star in the nighttime, and one of the largest stars known.
"Even if you don’t know it by name, the red supergiant star Betelgeuse is one of the most familiar sights in the heavens above—a gleaming ruddy dot at the shoulder of the constellation Orion. Although already quite difficult to overlook, Betelgeuse has become even more eye-catching across the past few years because of major changes in its appearance—unexpected fluctuations in its brightness that remain poorly understood."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Last August, astronomers, using the Hubble Space Telescope to observe Betelgeuse, found evidence that the star was ejecting so much material into space that it formed a dust cloud, which blocked all light coming from its surface."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "betelgeuse"?
Common synonyms include: celestial body, character, entity, ghost, luminous giant, red supergiant.
How do you use "betelgeuse" in a sentence?
Last August, astronomers, using the Hubble Space Telescope to observe Betelgeuse, found evidence that the star was ejecting so much material into space that it formed a dust cloud, which blocked all light coming from its surface.
How do you pronounce "betelgeuse"?
Pronounced /ˈbidlˌdʒus/.
Etymology
Ultimately from an alteration of the Arabic يَد الجَوْزَاء (yad al-jawzāʔ, “hand of the central one”), from يَد (yad, “hand”) + جَوْزَاء (jawzāʔ, “central one”). Jawzā, ‘the central one’, initially referred to Gemini among the Arabs, but at some point they decided to refer to Orion by that name. During the Middle Ages the first character of the name, yā’ (ي, with two underdots), was misread as a bā’ (ب, with one underdot) when transliterating into Latin, thus *Yedalgeuze became Bedalgeuze. This was then misinterpreted during the Renaissance as deriving from a corruption of an original Arabic form إِبْط الجَوْزَاء (ʔibṭ al-jawzāʔ, “armpit of the central one”).