asterisk

tr.v. as·ter·isked, as·ter·isk·ing, as·ter·isks

[Middle English, from Late Latin asteriscus, from Greek asteriskos, diminutive of astēr, star; see ster- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: The phonological phenomenon of metathesis involves the transposition of sounds or syllables in a word. Metathesis is responsible for the common rendering of ask as aks or ax. (This issue is discussed comprehensively at ax.) Similarly, one sometimes hears asterisk pronounced with the "sk" transposed to produce a (ks) sound, as though the word were spelled asterix or astericks. Then, perhaps because this symbol is often written as one of a series (as ***, for example), some people apparently infer that astericks is the plural of a singular asterick, pronounced with just a final (k) sound. In 2014, the Usage Panel overwhelmingly preferred the traditional pronunciation for asterisk, although 24 percent found the asterix pronunciation acceptable and 19 percent found asterick acceptable. A mere 7 percent personally preferred the asterix pronunciation, and only 6 percent preferred the asterick one. See Usage Note at ax ².

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

[C17: from Late Latin asteriscus a small star, from Greek asteriskos, from astēr star]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

1. a small starlike symbol (*), used in writing and printing as a reference mark or to indicate omission, doubtful matter, etc.

2. this symbol used in linguistics to mark an ungrammatical or otherwise unacceptable utterance.

3. to mark with an asterisk.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin asteriscus < Greek asterískos, diminutive of astḗr star]

pron: While the final syllable of asterisk is usu. pronounced (-rɪsk) with the (s) preceding the (k), a metathesized pronunciation of the word, in which the (s) and (k) change places to produce (ˈæs tə rɪks) is also heard. This pronunciation is sometimes falsely analyzed as a plural, with a corresponding singular (ˈæs tə rɪk) Both (ˈæs tə rɪks) and (ˈæs tə rɪk) although occasionally heard among educated speakers, are considered nonstandard pronunciations.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011