Name and Etymology
- The traditional name Alula' (share with ν UMa) comes from the Arabic phrase Al Ḳafzah al Ūla "the First Spring". The term Australis meaning "the south side" in Latin.
- In Chinese, 三台 (Sān Tái), meaning Three Steps, refers to an asterism consisting of ξ Ursae Majoris, ι Ursae Majoris, κ Ursae Majoris, λ Ursae Majoris, μ Ursae Majoris and ν Ursae Majoris. Consequently, ξ Ursae Majoris itself is known as 三台六 (Sān Tái liù, English: the Sixth Star of Three Steps) and 下台二 (Xià Tái èr, English: Star of Second Lower Step).
Read more about this topic: Xi 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)