Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Polaris |
PolarisNoun1. The brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the little dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "Polaris" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1878. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Space | A fairly bright star, the last star in the tail (or handle) of the constellation of the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor). Currently located within a fraction of a degree from the celestial north pole, the point around which the celestial sphere appears to rotate. In the northern hemisphere, the direction towards Polaris is very nearly due north. (Pole Star, North Star). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Polaris, Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the bright star closest to the north celestial pole. It is also known as the North Star, the Lode Star\, or the Pole star.
Because it lies nearly in a direct line with the axis of the Earth's rotation "above" the North Pole -- the north celestial pole -- Polaris is apparently motionless from the Earth, and all the stars of the Northern sky appear to rotate around it. Therefore, it makes an excellent fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation. The antiquity of the use of this star is attested to by the fact that it is found represented on the earliest known Assyrian tablets. At present, Polaris is slightly over 1° away from the pole of rotation and hence revolves around the pole in a small circle about 2° in diameter. Only twice during every 24 hours does Polaris accurately define the true north azimuth; the rest of the time it is only an approximation and must be corrected using tables.
Although Shakespeare wrote "I am as constant as the northern star", due to precession of the equinox, other stars in the northern hemisphere have been and will likely again become the north star over thousands of years; Thuban was pole star in the past, and Vega will be in the future.
It is easy to find Polaris by following the line traced from Merak to Dubhe (β and α Ursae Majoris), the two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper. One can also follow the central point of the W shape of Cassiopeia.
Polaris is 431 light years (132 parsecs) from Earth, according to measurements made by the Hipparcos satellite. It is an F7 supergiant (Ib) or bright giant (II), with two smaller companions: an F3 V main sequence star about 2000 AU away and a close companion in an orbit with a 5 AU semi-major axis. The main star is a Population II cepheid variable, the pulsations of which cause it steadily cycle between 8% brighter than its average luminosity and 8% dimmer (0.15 magnitudes in total) with a 3.97 day period.
There is no real south star. The star, visible to the naked eye, that is closest to the south celestial pole is the dim Sigma Octantis. However, the bright Southern Cross (Crux) points towards the south celestial pole.
See also:
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Polaris."
Synonyms: PolarisSynonyms: polar star (n), polestar (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Polaris |
| English words defined with "Polaris": Cassiopeia ♦ dipper ♦ Little Dipper ♦ north celestial pole, North Star. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Polaris": aurora polaris ♦ navigational stars. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Polaris" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. Serbo-Croatian (pole star). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Holy polaris! (Batman; writing credit: Bob Kane; Lorenzo Semple Jr.) And now we're asked to believe that a piece of paper will take the place of missile sites and Polaris submarines, and that an enemy who hasn't honored one solemn treaty in the history of its existence will now, for our convenience, do precisely that. (Seven Days in May; writing credit: Fletcher Knebel; Charles W. Bailey II) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Operation Stella Polaris (2003) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | ER-2 POLARIS Mission. Credit: NASA. |  | Stands by as a Polaris missile fired by USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) breaks the surface of the Pacific Ocean, during Exercise "Frigate Bird" of Operation "Dominic", 6 May 1962. Photographed by PH1 Burwell. Credit: NAVY. |
 | At the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, on 16 June 1950, following transfer to the South Korean Navy. At left is her sister ship Kum Kang San (Korean PC-702). Note railway crane on the wharf, 3"/50 dual-purpose gun mounted on Sam Kak San's foredeck and USS Polaris (AF-11) in the background. Credit: NAVY. |  | The cruise of the POLARIS An Eskimo family at Tessuisak, Greenland / / Photographed at the Treasury Department ; from a pencil sketch by Emil Schumann, engineer. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Commander Patrick J. Hannifin, prospective blue Commanding Officer is to left of Commander Lando W. Zech, Jr., prospective gold Commanding Officer [on deck of Polaris submarine U.S.S. Lafayette]. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | U.S.S. Polaris, equipped for arctic exploration. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | I have directed prompt action to step up our Polaris submarine program. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Polaris" is generally used as a noun (proper) -- approximately 92.42% of the time. "Polaris" is used about 66 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (proper) | 92.42% | 61 | 43,149 |
| Noun (singular) | 7.58% | 5 | 157,705 |
| Total | 100.00% | 66 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| India | Polaris Software | USA | Polaris Industries Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expression using "Polaris": aurora polaris. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "Polaris": polaris-armed. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
polaris | 5,299 | polaris 4 wheeler | 85 |
atv polaris | 1,788 | polaris 380 | 78 |
polaris pool cleaners | 339 | polaris scrambler | 72 |
polaris atv part | 335 | polaris 65 | 70 |
polaris industry | 295 | mirc polaris | 68 |
polaris predator | 280 | polaris atv accessory | 67 |
polaris amphitheater | 273 | polaris watercraft part | 57 |
polaris part | 242 | polaris 360 | 55 |
polaris watercraft | 224 | polaris victory | 55 |
polaris ranger | 221 | polaris pwc | 53 |
polaris jet ski | 209 | polaris sportsman | 52 |
polaris snowmobile | 171 | polaris pool sweep | 44 |
irc polaris | 135 | polaris quads | 43 |
polaris dealer | 122 | polaris atv dealer | 41 |
polaris motorcycle | 119 | polaris water heater | 39 |
polaris pool | 116 | polaris personal watercraft | 39 |
mall polaris | 111 | 500 polaris predator | 38 |
fashion place polaris | 100 | fashion mall polaris | 36 |
polaris four wheeler | 95 | polaris jet ski part | 35 |
polaris pool cleaner | 94 | polaris sportsman 500 | 34 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "Polaris"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | Ylli Polar (loadstar, lodestar, pole star). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | Полярна Звезда. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 北极星. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | polar aurora (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora), aurora (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | poollicht (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora), aurora (Aurora, dawn). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | revontuli (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | aurore polaire (polar lights), aurore (aurora polaris, polar aurora). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Polarlicht (northern lights). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | πολικό σέλας (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | sarki fény (aurora, aurora polaris, polar lights). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | aurora polare (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora), aurora (Aurora, dawn). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 北極星 (north star), ポ"ュラー音楽 (American submarine, cross of a tomato and a potato, Polaroid Camera, pomato, Pomeranian, poplar, poplin, popular music, popularism, popularity, population, pot-pourri). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ポラリス (American submarine), ほっきょくせい (north star). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | Rollage ny Twoaie (North Star, Pole Star). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | olarispay aurora polar (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora), aurora (Aurora, dawn, dawning, daybreak, daylight, day-spring, morn, morning). (various references) полярная звезда (cynosure, loadstar, lodestar, north star, pole star, polestar). (various references) Estrella Polar (lodestar, polestar). (various references) polar aurora (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora), aurora (aurora, aurora polaris, polar aurora). (various references) Полярна Зоря. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "Polaris": polariscope, polariscopes, polariscopic, polarise, polarised, polarises, polarising. (additional references) | |
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"Polaris" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Epulario, Olari, Pajari, pilaris, Plavis, Poari, polaeis, polari, Polaron, polars, Polaryi, Polcari, Pollakis, Pollardii, Polledri, Polmaise, Poojari, Poyais, Pujari, Xpelair. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-i-l-o-p-r-s" | |
-1 letter: parols, polars, sailor, spiral, sporal. | |
-2 letters: arils, lairs, lapis, laris, liars, liras, loris, opals, orals, pails, pairs, paris, parol, pilar, polar, polis, praos, proas, psoai, rails, rials, roils, sapor, solar, spail, spoil. | |
-3 letters: ails, airs, alps, also, aril, lair, laps, lari, lars, liar, lipa, lips, lira, lisp, lops, oars, oils, opal, oral, osar. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-i-l-o-p-r-s" | |
+1 letter: parboils, pelorias, polarise. | |
+2 letters: acropolis, caprioles, dropsical, oilpapers, panbroils, parvolins, pastorali, piclorams, piroplasm, polarised, polarises, polarizes, polyurias, posttrial, proclaims, prodigals, prolamins, saprolite, spoliator, troopials, troupials. | |
+3 letters: captoprils, clipboards, drosophila, epistolary, impersonal, kiloparsec, leprosaria, nonpareils, overplaids, palliators, paralogism, periosteal, pictorials, piperonals, piroplasma, piroplasms, plesiosaur, polarising, polarities, polarizers, polyparies, popularise, porcelains, prismoidal, prolactins, prolamines, prolapsing, proplastid, prosodical, prostomial, pyridoxals, saprolites, spheroidal, spoliators, sponsorial, sporangial, sporicidal, stipulator. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)50 6F 6C 61 72 69 73 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references).--. --- .-.. .- .-. .. ... |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01010000 01101111 01101100 01100001 01110010 01101001 01110011 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)P o l a r i s |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0050 006F 006C 0061 0072 0069 0073 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)50817867847585 |
| Language | Coverage | Language Translations |
Albanian | fjalor, qartësi, përcaktim, saktësi, transmetim, transferim | shqip, албанец, албански език, албански, 阿"巴尼亚语, 阿爾巴尼亞人 , Albanees, albanialainen, Albanais, albaner, αλβανικόσ, Αλβανός, αλβανόσ, albán, albanese, Albaneagh, albanês, албанский, albanés, alban, албанський, албанка, албанець |
Bulgarian | речник, яснота, сила, очертания, дефиниция, транслация, превеждане, предаване, поддаване, тълкуване, огъване, превод | bulgr, български, български език, българин, 保 利亚, bulgarer, bulgarialainen, bulgare, 'ούλγαρος, bolgár, bulgaro, Bulgeyragh, Bulgeyrish, болгарский, болгарин, búlgaro, bulgar, болгарський |
Chinese | 字典 , 定義 , 定义, 翻译 | kinez, китайски, 汉语, 中 , 漢 , 中國 , kineser, kiinalainen, Chinois, Chinesisch, Κινέζος, κινέζικα, κινέζικοσ, κινέζοσ, σινικόσ, kínai, cinese, チフス菌 , チャイニーズ , Sheenish, Sheenagh, chinês, китайский, китаец, chino, kinesisk, китаянка, китайська мова, китайський, кита"ць |
Danish | ordbog, deskriptordefinition, oversættelse | danisht, danishte, датски език, датски, 丹麦语, tanskalainen, danois, dänisch, δανικόσ, δανόσ, dán, danese, Danvargish, Danvargagh, dinamarquês, датский, danés, dansk, датський, датська мова |
Dutch | woordenboek, definitie, translatie | holandez, холандски, немски език, холандски език, холандците, немски, 菏蘭語 , 荷兰语, hollandsk, hollantilainen, néerlandais, holländisch, ολλανδικόσ, ολλανδόσ, holland, olandese, Ollanish, Germaanish, holandês, голландский, holandés, holländsk, голландська мова, голландський |
Finnish | määritelmä, translaatio, taajuusmuutos | finlandez, finlandishte, finlandisht, фински език, фински, 芬蘭語 , 芬兰语, suomi, suomalainen, finnois, Finlandaise, finlandais, finnisch, φινλανδικόσ, finn, finlandese, Fynlannish, Fynlannagh, finlandês, finês, финский, finlandés, finés, finsk, фінська мова, фінський |
French | dictionnaire, définition, traduction | frëngjishte, frëng, franceze, френски език, френски, 法國 , 法文 , 法語 , 法语, ranskalainen, français, französisch, γαλλικόσ, γαλλική γλώσσα, γαλλίδα, γάλλοσ, francia, francese, フレコン化 , 仏文 , フランス" , 仏 , ふつぶ", ふつ, フレンチ , フランセ , Ny Frangee, Mooinjey ny Frank, francês, французский, francés, fransk, franska, французька мова, французький |
German | Übersetzung, Wörterbuch, Definition | gjerman, германски, немски език, немски, немец, роден, готически, германец, 德语, 德國 , 德文 , 德語 , tysker, Duitse, saksalainen, allemand, "ερμανός, német, tedesco, ジプシー音楽 , ジャーマン , Germaanish, Germaanagh, Garmane, Carmane, alemão, немецкий, alemán, tysk, німкеня, німецький, німець |
Greek | λεξικό, ορισμός, μετάφραση | гръцки език, гръцки, грък, 希腊语, 希臘語 , græker, kreikkalainen, grec, grieche, ελληνικόσ, 'Ελληνας, görög, greco, ギリシア語 , ギリシア", Greagish, Greagagh, grego, греческий, грек, griego, grek, грецький, гречанка, грецька мова |
Hungarian | szótár, meghatározás, definíció, fordítás | унгарски език, унгарски, унгарец, 匈牙利语, 匈牙利語 , ungarer, Hongaarse, unkarilainen, hongrois, Ungar, Ούγγρος, magyar, ungherese, Ungaarish, Ungaaragh, венгр, венгерский, húngaro, ungrare, угорська мова, угорський, угорка, угорець |
Italian | dizionario, definizione, traduzione | италиански език, италиански, италианец, 意大利 , 意大利語 , 意大利语, italiener, italialainen, italien, italienisch, Ιταλός, olasz, italiano, Iddaalish, итальянский язык, итальянец, итальянский, italiensk, italienska, italienare, італі"ць, італійська мова, італійський, італійка |
Japanese Kanji | 辭典 , 辞典 , 字引 , 辞林 , 字書 , ディーゼル電気車 , 言海 , 辞彙 , 辞書 , 確定 , ディーゼル電気車 , デ'ドロ酢酸 , 翻訳 | japonez, японски език, японци, японски, 日語 , 日语, 日本 , 日文 , 倭 , japanilainen, Japonais, japaner, japanisch, ιαπωνικόσ, Ιάπωνας· "ιαπωνέζος, ιάπωνεσ, ιάπων, ιαπωνικά, japán, giapponese, 邦語 , 邦人 , ジャスミン茶 , ほう", ジャパニーズ , ほうじ", Shapaanagh, Shapaanish, japonês, японский, японец, japonés, japansk, японська мова, японський, японка, японець |
Japanese Katakana | じい, じびき, じて", ディクショナリー , じり", じしょ, '"かい, ディクショナリ , デフィニション , ディフィニション , ていぎ, かくてい, へい"ういどう, やくじゅつ, トランスレーション , やくしょ, やくしゅつ, "うどく, ほ"やく, ほ"やくしょ | japonez, японски език, японци, японски, 日語 , 日语, 日本 , 日文 , 倭 , japanilainen, Japonais, japaner, japanisch, ιαπωνικόσ, Ιάπωνας· "ιαπωνέζος, ιάπωνεσ, ιάπων, ιαπωνικά, japán, giapponese, 邦語 , 邦人 , ジャスミン茶 , ほう", ジャパニーズ , ほうじ", Shapaanagh, Shapaanish, japonês, японский, японец, japonés, japansk, японська мова, японський, японка, японець |
Manx | fockleyr, geyrid, meenaghey, keeayllaght, baght | gjuha e popullsisë së ishullit men, manx, mann-szigeti nyelv, Manninish, Manninagh, Gaelgagh, Yn Ghaelg, язык жителей о-ва мэн, с о-ва мэн, los habitantes de la isla de man, lengua de la isla de man, de la isla de man, från ön man, менський, менський діалект |
Portuguese | dicionário, definição, tradução | portugez, portugalisht, португалски, португалски език, португалец, 葡萄牙語 , 葡萄牙人 , 葡萄牙语, portugiser, portugalilainen, portugais, portugiesisch, πορτογάλοσ, ορτογάλος, portugál, portoghese, ポルトガル語 , ポルトガル", Portiugish, Portiugagh, português, португальский, portugués, portugis, португальський, португальська мова, португалець |
Russian | словарь, определение, трансляция, сдвиг, перевод, перемещение | руски език, руски, руснак, 俄語 , 俄文 , 俄语, russer, venäläinen, Russe, russisch, Ρώσος, orosz, russo, ロシア語 , ロシア", Rooshish, Rooshagh, русский, ruso, ryss, росіянка, росіянин, російська мова, російський |
Spanish | diccionario, definición, traducción | spanjoll, испански език, испански, 西班牙語 , 西班牙文 , 西班牙语, Spaans, espanjalainen, espagnol, spanisch, ισπανικά, ισπανικόσ, ισπανοί, spanyol, spagnolo, スペイン語 , スパイ罪 , スペイン", スパニッシュ , Spaainish, Spaainagh, espanhol, испанский, español, spanska språk, spansk, іспанський, іспанська мова |
Swedish | ordbok, lexikon, översättning | suedez, шведски, шведски език, швед, 瑞典語 , 瑞典语, Zweeds, ruotsalainen, suédois, schwedisch, σουηδικόσ, σουηδικά, svéd, svedese, スウェーデン語 , スウェーデン", Soolynish, Soolynagh, шведский, sueco, svensk, шведська мова, шведський |
Ukrainian | словник, довідник, чіткість, тлумачення, виразність, визначення, дефініція, ясність, чітка чутність, процес перекладу, переклад, пояснення, переміщення | ukrainisht, ukrainas, украинец, украински език, 乌克兰, Oekraïens, ukrainalainen, ukrainien, ukrainisch, ukrainerin, Ukrainer, ουκρανικόσ, Ουκρανός, ουκρανόσ, ukrán, ucraino, Ookraanagh, Ookraanish, ucraniano, украинский язык, украинский, украинец украинский, ucranio, ukrainare, український, українець |
English | Dictionary, Definition, Translation | anglezët, anglez, gjuhë zngleze, anglishte, anglisht, английски език, английски, англичаните, 英语, 英國 , 英文 , 英 , 英語 , englantia, englantilainen, anglais, englisch, εγγλέζοσ, αγγλικόσ, angol, inglese, Sostynagh, Sostnagh, Baarlagh, inglês, английский, inglés, engelsk, англійський, англійці, англійська мова |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Speeches | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Names: Company Usage 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Derivations 15. Anagrams 16. Orthography | 17. Bibliography |
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