Asterisk

:This article refers to the asterisk symbol. For other uses, see Asterisk (disambiguation).

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An asterisk (*) is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (Latin astrum). Computer scientists often pronounce it as star (as, for example, in the A* algorithm).

Related Topics:
Typographical - Glyph - A*

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The asterisk derives from the need of the printers of family trees in feudal times for a symbol to indicate date of birth. The original shape was six-armed, each arm like a teardrop shooting from the center. For this reason, in some computer circles it is called a splat, perhaps due to the "squashed-bug" appearance of the asterisk on many early line printers.

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In this form the character appeared in typewriters. However, some typewriters had difficulty printing the six arms distinctly. Furthermore, due to Arab-Israeli tension, many Arabs would not buy typewriters with a six-armed symbol, which they identified with the Star of David on the Israeli flag. Hence many systems use a distinct symbol referred to as the "Arabic star", and given a distinct character in Unicode, U+066D and the official name "Arabic five-pointed star".

Related Topics:
Arab-Israeli tension - Star of David - Israeli flag - Arabic star

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In some fonts, however, the asterisk is five-pointed and the Arabic star is eight-pointed. The two symbols are compared below (the display depends on your browser's font).

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