Shooting Star
/ˈʃuːtɪŋ ˌstɑːr/noun
A meteor that appears as a bright streak of light moving rapidly across the night sky.
Did you know?The same ancient root behind “star” also gave English “disaster,” originally connected to the idea of an unfavorable or ill-positioned star.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂stḗr
“Star; a luminous object in the night sky”
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*sternǭ
“Star”
Old English
Old English
steorra; scēotan
“Star; to shoot, dart, or propel rapidly”
Late 14th Century
Middle English
shooting sterre
“A meteor, understood figuratively as a star shooting across the sky”
Modern English
English
shooting star
“A conventional name for a meteor producing a visible streak of light”