Name and Etymology
- The traditional name Alioth comes from the Arabic alyat (fat tail of a sheep).
- This star as Añgiras, one of the Seven Rishis.
- In Chinese, 北斗 (Běi Dǒu), meaning Northern Dipper, refers to an asterism consisting of ε Ursae Majoris, α Ursae Majoris, β Ursae Majoris, γ Ursae Majoris, δ Ursae Majoris, ζ Ursae Majoris and η Ursae Majoris. Consequently, ε Ursae Majoris itself is known as 北斗五 (Běi Dǒu wu, English: the Fifth Star of Northern Dipper) and 玉衡 (Yù Héng, English: Star of Jade Sighting-Tube).
Read more about this topic: Epsilon Ursae Majoris
Famous quotes containing the words name and and/or etymology:
“Name any name and then remember everybody you ever knew who bore than name. Are they all alike. I think so.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)