View source for Asterisk

{{Short description|Typographical symbol or glyph (*)}}
{{hatnote|{{code|*}} redirects here. For other uses, see [[Asterisk (disambiguation)]] and [[* (disambiguation)]].}}
{{for|the comic book series|Asterix}}
{{Infobox symbol
|mark=<nowiki>*</nowiki>
|name=Asterisk
|unicode = {{unichar|2A|Asterisk|html=}}
|see also={{unichar|203B|Reference mark |nlink=}} ({{lang|ja-Latn|komejirushi}})<br />
{{unichar|A673|Slavonic asterisk|nlink=Cyrillic Extended-B}}
}}
{{wiktionary|*|asterisk}}
The '''asterisk''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|s|t|ər|ɪ|s|k}} {{char|'''*'''}}), from [[Late Latin]] {{lang|la|asteriscus}}, from [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἀστερίσκος}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|asteriskos}}, "little star",<ref>[https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=asterisk "asterisk"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208070756/https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=asterisk |date=2015-12-08 }}, American Heritage Dictionary</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da%29steri%2Fskos ἀστερίσκος] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117092137/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=a)steri/skos |date=2021-01-17 }}, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> is a [[Typography|typographical]] symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a [[star (heraldry)|heraldic star]].

[[Computer scientists]] and [[Mathematician|mathematicians]] often vocalize it as '''star''' (as, for example, in ''the [[A* search algorithm]]'' or ''[[C*-algebra]]''). An asterisk is usually five- or six-pointed in [[printing|print]] and six- or eight-pointed when handwritten, though more complex forms exist. Its most common use is to call out a [[footnote]]. It is also often used to censor offensive words.

In [[computer science]], the asterisk is commonly used as a [[wildcard character]], or to denote [[pointer (computer programming)|pointer]]s, repetition, or [[multiplication]].

==History==

[[File:Asteriskos.jpg|thumb|The asteriskos used in an early Greek papyrus.]]

[[File:Asteriskos.gif|thumb|Early asterisks seen in the margin of Greek papyrus.]]

[[File:Midrashasteriscus.jpg|thumb|<ref name="r151">{{cite web | title=Jewish Gnosticism, merkabah mysticism, and Talmudic tradition : Scholem, Gershom, 1897-1982 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive | website=Internet Archive | date=2023-03-25 | url=https://archive.org/details/jewishgnosticism0000scho/page/70/mode/2up?view=theater | access-date=2024-05-21}}</ref>]]

The asterisk was already in use as a symbol in [[ice age]] [[Cave painting|cave paintings]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://ideas.ted.com/what-the-mysterious-symbols-made-by-early-humans-can-teach-us-about-how-we-evolved/
 |title=32 mysterious symbols made by early humans
 |last=D'Arcy
 |first=Patrick
 |date=June 7, 2017
 |website=ted.com
 |access-date=June 2, 2019
 |archive-date=June 2, 2019
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602094828/https://ideas.ted.com/what-the-mysterious-symbols-made-by-early-humans-can-teach-us-about-how-we-evolved/
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> There is also a two-thousand-year-old character used by [[Aristarchus of Samothrace]] called the {{lang|el|asteriskos}}, {{char|[[※]]}}, which he used when proofreading Homeric poetry to mark lines that were duplicated.<ref>Kathleen McNamee, "Sigla," in ''Sigla and Select Marginalia in Greek Literary Papyri'' (Brussels: Fondation Egyptologique Reine Elisabeth, 1992), 9.</ref> [[Origen]] is known to have also used the asteriskos to mark missing [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] lines from his [[Hexapla]].<ref>McNamee, "Sigla," 12.</ref> The asterisk evolved in shape over time, but its meaning as a symbol used to correct defects remained.

In the Middle Ages, the asterisk was used to emphasize a particular part of text, often linking those parts of the text to a marginal comment.<ref>Parkes, "The Technology of Printing and the Stabilization of the Symbols," 50-64.</ref> However, an asterisk was not always used.

One hypothesis to the origin of the asterisk is that it stems from the 5000-year-old [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] character [[dingir]], {{char|𒀭}},<ref>Robert Bringhurst, "Asterisk," in ''The Elements of Typographic Style: Version 3.2'' (Vancouver, BC: Hartley & Marks, 2008), 303.</ref> though this hypothesis seems to only be based on visual appearance.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Shady Characters|last=Houston|first=Keith|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.|year=2013|isbn=978-1-846-14647-3|page=98}}</ref>

==Usage==

===Censorship===
{{Main article|Wordfilter}}
When toning down [[Profanity|expletive]]s, asterisks are often used to replace letters. For example, the word "badword" might become "ba***rd", "b*****d", "b******" or even "*******".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Werner |first1=Edgar |title=Englishes Around the World: Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Australasia |date=1997 |page=284}}</ref> Vowels tend to be censored with an asterisk more than consonants, but the intelligibility of censored profanities with multiple syllables such as "b*dw*rd" and  "b*****d" or "ba****d", or uncommon ones is higher if put in context with surrounding text.<ref>Wutiolarn, Nopsarun, and Damrong Attaprechakul. A study of nonstandard orthography and vowel omission in an international online game: AuditionSEA. Language Institute, Thammasat University, 2012.</ref>

When a document containing [[classified information]] is published, the document may be [[Sanitization (classified information)|"sanitized"]] ([[wikt: redact|redacted]]) by replacing the classified information with asterisks. For example, the [[Intelligence and Security Committee Russia report]].

===Competitive sports and games===
In colloquial usage,<!-- Before changing this to a more definite wording, a new citation to support that wording will be needed --> an asterisk attached to a sporting [[World record|record]] indicates that it is somehow tainted. This is because results that have been considered dubious or set aside are recorded in the record books with an asterisk rendering to a footnote explaining the reason or reasons for concern.<ref>{{cite news|title=An Asterisk is very real, even when it's not |author=Allen Barra |date=2007-05-27|newspaper=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/weekinreview/27barra.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210204859/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/weekinreview/27barra.html |archive-date=10 December 2008}}</ref>

====Baseball====
The usage of the term in sports arose during the 1961 baseball season in which [[Roger Maris]] of the [[New York Yankees]] was threatening to break [[Babe Ruth]]'s 34-year-old single-season [[home run]] record. Ruth had amassed 60 home runs in a season with only 154 games,  but Maris was playing the first season in the American League's newly expanded 162-game season.  Baseball Commissioner [[Ford C. Frick]], a friend of Ruth's during the legendary slugger's lifetime, held a press conference to announce his "ruling" that should Maris take longer than 154 games both records would be acknowledged by Major League Baseball, but that some "distinctive mark" [his term]<ref name=Salon>{{cite web|last1=Barra|first1=Allen|title=The myth of Maris' asterisk|url=http://www.salon.com/2001/10/03/asterisk/|work=[[Salon.com]]|access-date=November 15, 2014|date=October 3, 2001|archive-date=April 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412134133/https://www.salon.com/2001/10/03/asterisk/|url-status=live}}</ref> be placed next to Maris', which should be listed alongside Ruth's achievement in the "record books".  The asterisk as such a mark was suggested at that time by [[New York Daily News]] sportswriter [[Dick Young (sportswriter)|Dick Young]], not Frick.<ref name=Salon/> The reality, however, was that MLB actually had no direct control over any record books until many years later, and it all was merely a suggestion on Frick's part. Within a few years the controversy died down and all prominent baseball record keepers listed Maris as the single-season record holder for as long as he held the record.<ref name=Salon/>

Nevertheless, the stigma of holding a tainted record remained with Maris for many years, and the concept of a real or figurative asterisk denoting less-than-accepted "official" records has become widely used in sports and other competitive endeavors. A 2001 [[TV movie]] about Maris's record-breaking season was called ''[[61*]]'' (pronounced ''sixty-one asterisk'') in reference to the controversy.

Uproar over the integrity of baseball records and whether or not qualifications should be added to them arose again in the late 1990s, when a [[steroid era|steroid-fueled]] power explosion led to the shattering of Maris' record.  Even though it was obvious - and later admitted<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4816607|title=McGwire comes clean, admits steroids use|date=January 11, 2010|website=ESPN.com|access-date=September 5, 2019|archive-date=January 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123210850/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4816607|url-status=live}}</ref> - by [[Mark McGwire]] that he was heavily on steroids when he hit 70 home runs in 1998, ruling authorities did nothing - to the annoyance of many fans and sportswriters.  Three years later self-confessed steroid-user [[Barry Bonds]] pushed that record out to 73, and fans once again began to call for an asterisk in the sport's record books.

Fans were especially critical and clamored louder for baseball to act during the 2007 season, as Bonds approached and later broke [[Hank Aaron]]'s career home run record of 755.<ref>{{cite news|title=''Tarnished records deserve an Asterisk''|author=Michael Wilbon|date=2004-12-04|newspaper=Washington Post|page=D10|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33718-2004Dec3.html|access-date=2017-08-24|archive-date=2018-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419091356/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33718-2004Dec3.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Houston Astros]]' 2017 World Series win was marred after an investigation by MLB revealed the team's involvement in a [[Houston Astros sign stealing scandal|sign-stealing scheme]] during that season. Fans, appalled by what they perceived to be overly lenient discipline against the Astros players, nicknamed the team the "Houston Asterisks".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbaldoni/2020/02/17/lets-call-them-the-houston-asterisks/#5066794640c9|title=Let's Call Them the Houston Asterisks|website=[[Forbes]]|access-date=2020-08-26|archive-date=2020-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003062529/https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbaldoni/2020/02/17/lets-call-them-the-houston-asterisks/#5066794640c9|url-status=live}}</ref>

In recent years, the asterisk has come into use on baseball scorecards to denote a "great defensive play."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://baseball-almanac.com/score2b.shtml |title=Scoring Baseball: Advanced Symbols |publisher=Baseball Almanac |access-date=2018-09-18 |archive-date=2011-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012234604/http://www.baseball-almanac.com/score2b.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Usage in anti-doping campaigns====
*By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the association of baseball and its records with doping had become so notorious that the term "asterisk" had become firmly associated with [[doping in sport]]. In February 2011 the [[United States Olympic Committee]] and the [[Ad Council]] launched an [[Use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport#Anti-doping organizations and legislation|anti-steroid]] campaign called "Play Asterisk Free"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://facebook.com/playasteriskfree |title=Facebook.com |publisher=Facebook.com |access-date=2018-09-18 |archive-date=2016-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210094943/https://www.facebook.com/playasteriskfree |url-status=live }}</ref> aimed at teens.  The campaign, whose logo uses a [[heavy asterisk]](✱), first launched in 2008 under the name Don't Be An Asterisk.<ref>[http://www.adcouncil.org/newsDetail.aspx?id=241 Adcouncil.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929214131/http://www.adcouncil.org/newsDetail.aspx?id=241 |date=2011-09-29 }}, ''Ad Council'', August 8, 2008</ref>

====Cricket====
* In [[cricket]], it signifies a total number of runs scored by a batsman without losing his wicket; e.g. "107*" means "107 [[not out]]".
* Where only the scores of the two batsmen that are currently in are being shown, an asterisk following a batsman's score indicates that he is due to face the next ball to be delivered.
* When written before a player's name on a scorecard, it indicates the [[captain (cricket)|captain]] of the team.
* It is also used on television when giving a career statistic during a match. For example, "47*" in a number of matches column means that the current game is the player's 47th.

====Other sports====
During the first decades of the 21st century, the term ''asterisk'' to denote a tainted accomplishment{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} caught on in other sports first in North America and then, due in part to North American sports' widespread media exposure, around the world.

===Computing===

====Computer science====
* In [[computer science]], the asterisk is used in [[regular expression]]s to denote zero or more repetitions of a pattern; this use is also known as the ''[[Kleene star]]'' or ''Kleene closure'' after [[Stephen Kleene]]. In the [[Unified Modeling Language]], the asterisk is used to denote zero to many classes.

====Computer interfaces====
* In some [[command line interface]]s, such as the [[Unix shell]] and [[Microsoft]]'s [[CMD (Windows)|CMD]], the asterisk is the ''[[wildcard character]]'' and stands for any [[string (computer science)|string]] of [[character (computing)|characters]]. This is also known as a wildcard symbol. A common use of the wildcard is in searching for files on a computer. For instance, if a user wished to find a document called <code>Document&nbsp;1</code>, search terms such as <code>Doc*</code> and <code>D*ment*</code> would return this file. Due to being a wildcard, they could also return files like <code>Document 2</code> and (only the latter) <code>Dark Knight Monument.jpg</code>. <code>Document*</code> would in fact return any file that begins with <code>Document</code>, and <code>D*ment*</code> any file that began with D and had 'ment' somewhere in its name. 
* In some [[graphical user interface]]s an asterisk is pre- or appended to the current working document name shown in a window's title bar to indicate that unsaved changes exist.
* In many computing and [[Internet]] applications an asterisk, or another character, is displayed to indicate that a character of a password or other confidential information has been entered, without the risk of displaying the actual character. 
* In [[Commodore International|Commodore]] (and related) [[files system]]s, an asterisk appearing next to a filename in a directory listing denotes an improperly closed file, commonly called a "splat file".
* In travel industry [[Computer reservations system|Global Distribution Systems]], the asterisk is the display command to retrieve all or part of a [[Passenger Name Record]].
* In [[HTML]] [[web form]]s, a (usually red) asterisk can be used to denote required fields.
* In [[Markdown]], surrounding a set of characters or words in one asterisk italicizes, two asterisks bolds, and three asterisks both italicizes and bolds.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-16 |title=Markdown Guide - Basic Syntax: Emphasis |url=https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/#emphasis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413065626/https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/#emphasis |archive-date=2024-04-13 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Markdown Guide |language=en}}</ref> See the table below for examples of all three uses of the asterisk in Markdown, including how it translates to HTML and how it renders. 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Markdown
|{{code|2=md|Italicized text is the *cat's meow*.}}
|{{code|2=md|I just love **bold text**.}}
|{{code|This text is ***really important***.}}
|-
!HTML
|{{code|2=html|Italicized text is the <em>cat's meow</em>.}}
|{{code|2=html|I just love <strong>bold text</strong>.}}
|{{code|2=html|This text is <em><strong>really important</strong></em>.}}
|-
!Rendered Output
|Italicized text is the ''cat's meow''.
|I just love '''bold text'''.
|This text is '''''really important'''''.
|}
* [[Chat room]] etiquette calls on one asterisk to correct a misspelled word or typo that has already been submitted. For example, one could post <code>lck</code>, then follow it with <code>*luck</code> or <code>luck*</code> (the placement of the * on the left or right is a matter of personal style) to correct the word's spelling, or if it's someone else that notices the mistake, they might also use <code>*luck</code> or <code>luck*</code>.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Collister |first1=Lauren B. |date=2011-02-01 |title=*-repair in Online Discourse |url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/20621/1/Star-Repair_in_Online_Discourse_-_Author_Accepted_Version.pdf |journal=Journal of Pragmatics |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=918–921 |doi=10.1016/j.pragma.2010.09.025 |access-date=2018-05-31 |archive-date=2017-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922010832/http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/20621/1/Star-Repair_in_Online_Discourse_-_Author_Accepted_Version.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This also applies to typos that result in a different word from the intended one but are correctly spelled.
** Enclosing a phrase between two asterisks is used to denote an action the user is "performing", e.g. <code>*pulls out a paper*</code>, although this usage is also common on forums, and less so on most chat rooms due to <code>/me</code> or similar commands. [[Hyphen]]s (<code>-action-</code>) and double [[colon (punctuation)|colons]] (<code>::action::</code>) as well as the operator <code>/me</code> are also used for similar purposes.

=====Adding machines and printing calculators=====
* Some models of [[adding machine]]s and [[calculator|printing calculators]] use the asterisk to denote the ''total'', or the terminal sum or difference of an addition or subtraction sequence, respectively. The symbol is sometimes given on the printout to indicate this total.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

====Programming languages====
Many [[programming language]]s and [[calculator]]s use the asterisk as a symbol for [[multiplication]]. It also has a number of special meanings in specific languages, for instance:
* In some programming languages such as the [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]], and [[Go (programming language)|Go]] programming languages, the asterisk is used to [[dereference]] or declare a [[pointer (computer programming)|pointer]] variable.
* In the [[Common Lisp]] programming language, the names of [[global variable]]s are conventionally set off with asterisks, <code>*LIKE-THIS*</code>.
* In the [[Ada (programming language)|Ada]], [[Fortran]], [[Perl]], [[Python (programming language)|Python]], [[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby]] programming languages, in some dialects of the [[Pascal programming language]], and many others, a double asterisk is used to signify [[exponentiation]]: <code>5**3</code> is 5<sup>3</sup> = 125.
* In the [[Perl|Perl programming language]], the asterisk is used to refer to the ''[[typeglob]]'' of all variables with a given name.
* In the programming languages [[Ruby programming language|Ruby]] and [[Python (programming language)|Python]], * has two specific uses. First, the unary * operator applied to a list object inside a function call will expand that list into the arguments of the function call. Second, a parameter preceded by * {{anchor|kwargs}}in the parameter list for a function will result in any extra positional parameters being aggregated into a [[tuple]] (Python) or [[array data type|array]] (Ruby), and likewise a parameter preceded by ** will result in any extra [[named parameter|keyword parameters]] being aggregated into a [[associative array|dictionary]] (Python) or [[associative array|hash]] (Ruby).
* In the [[APL (programming language)|APL]] language, the asterisk represents the [[Exponential function|exponential]] and [[exponentiation]] functions, with <code>*X</code> representing <var>e</var><sup><var>X</var></sup>, and <code>Y*X</code> representing <var>Y</var><sup><var>X</var></sup>.
* In IBM [[Job Control Language]], the asterisk has various functions, including in-stream data in the DD statement, the default print stream as <code>SYSOUT=*</code>, and as a self-reference in place of a procedure step name to refer to the same procedure step where it appears.
* In [[Haskell (programming language)|Haskell]], the asterisk represents the set of well-formed, fully applied types; that is, a 0-ary ''kind'' of types.
* In many markup languages, putting text between two asterisks makes the text bold or italic. For example, <code>*Hello world!*</code> will often turn into "'''Hello world!'''" or "''Hello world!''".

=====Comments in programming languages=====
{{Main article|block comments}}
In the [[B (programming language)|B programming language]] and languages that borrow syntax from it, such as [[C (programming language)|C]], [[PHP]], [[Java (software platform)|Java]], or [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], comments in the [[source code]] (for information to people, ignored by the [[compiler]]) are marked by an asterisk combined with the slash:

<syntaxhighlight lang="c#">
 /* This section displays message if user input was not valid
    (comment ignored by compiler) */
</syntaxhighlight>

Some [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]]-like programming languages, for example, [[Object Pascal]], [[Modula-2]], [[Modula-3]], and [[Oberon (programming language)|Oberon]], as well as several other languages including [[ML (programming language)|ML]], [[Wolfram Language]] ([[Mathematica]]), [[AppleScript]], [[OCaml]], [[Standard ML]], and [[Maple (software)|Maple]], use an asterisk combined with a parenthesis:

<syntaxhighlight lang="Applescript">
 (* Do not change this variable - it is used later
    (comment ignored by compiler) *)
</syntaxhighlight>

[[CSS]] also uses the slash-star comment format.
<syntaxhighlight lang="css">
body {
  /* This ought to make the text more readable for far-sighted people */
  font-size: 24pt;
}
</syntaxhighlight>

Each computing language has its own way of handling comments; {{code|/* ... */}} and similar notations are not universal.

====History of information technology====
The asterisk was a supported symbol on the IBM 026 [[Keypunch]] (introduced in 1949 and used to create [[punch card]]s with data for early computer systems).<ref>{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620214024if_/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/026.html |archive-date=20 June 2011 |title=the IBM 026 Key Punch |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/026.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Columbia University}}</ref> It was also included in the [[FIELDATA]] character encoding<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nssdc/formats/UnisysFieldata.htm|title="Univac Fieldata Codes"}}</ref> and the [[ASCII]] standard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WPS:Projects:History of character codes:X3.4 1963 |url=https://www.sensitiveresearch.com/Archive/CharCodeHist/X3.4-1963/index.html |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=www.sensitiveresearch.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sensitiveresearch.com/Archive/CharCodeHist/X3.4-1963/page5.JPG|title=American Standard Code for Information Interchange (page 5)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=X3 |first=American Standards Association Sectional Committee on Computers and Information Processing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXzEGwAACAAJ |title=American Standard Code for Information Interchange: Sponsor: Business Equipment Manufacturers Association. Approved June 17, 1963 |date=1963 |language=en}}</ref>

===Economics===
* In [[economics]], the use of an asterisk superscript indicates that the [[Variable (mathematics)|variable]] such as [[price]], [[Output (economics)|output]], or [[employment]] is at its optimal level (that which is achieved in a perfect market situation). For instance, <math>p^*</math> is the price level <math>p</math> when output <math>y</math> is at its corresponding optimal level of <math>y^*</math>.
* Also in international economics asterisks are commonly used to denote economic variables in a foreign country. So, for example, <math>p</math> is the price of the home good and <math>p^*</math> is the price of the foreign good, etc.

===Education===
* In the [[Advanced Level General Certificate of Education|A-Level]] examinations in the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[Primary School Leaving Examination|PSLE]] in [[Singapore]], A* ("''A''-star") is a special top grade that is distinguished from grade A.
* In the [[Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education]] (HKDSE) examination in [[Hong Kong]], 5** (5-star-star) and 5* (5-star) are two special top grades that are distinguished from Level 5. Level 5** is the highest level a candidate can attain in HKDSE.

===Fluid mechanics===
In [[fluid mechanics]] an asterisk in superscript is sometimes used to mean a property at sonic speed.<ref>White, F. M. Fluid Mechanics, Fourth Ed. WCB McGraw Hill.</ref>

===Games===<!-- This section is linked from [[Splat (pronouns)]] -->
*Certain categories of character types in [[role-playing game]]s are called '''splats''', and the game supplements describing them are called '''[[splatbook]]s'''. This usage originated with the shorthand "*book" for this type of supplement to various [[World of Darkness]] games, such as ''Clanbook: Ventrue'' (for ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'') or ''Tribebook: Black Furies'' (for ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]''), and this usage has spread to other games with similar character-type supplements. For example, ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' Third Edition has had several lines of splatbooks: the "X & Y" series including ''Sword & Fist'' and ''Tome & Blood'' prior to the "3.5" revision, the "Complete X" series including ''Complete Warrior'' and ''Complete Divine'', and the "Races of X" series including ''Races of Stone'' and ''Races of the Wild''.
*In many [[Multi-user dungeon|MUD]]s and [[MOO]]s, as well as "male", "female", and other more esoteric genders, there is a gender called "splat", which uses an asterisk to replace the letters that differ in standard English gender pronouns. For example, ''h*'' is used rather than ''him'' or ''her''. Also, asterisks are used to signify doing an action, for example, "*''action''*".
*[[Game show]] producer [[Mark Goodson]] used a six-pointed asterisk as his trademark. It is featured prominently on many set pieces from ''[[The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)|The Price Is Right]].''
*[[Scrabble]] players put an asterisk after a word to indicate that an illegal play was made.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tucsonscrabble.com/articles/glossary.html|title=Scrabble Glossary|publisher=Tucson Scrabble Club|access-date=2012-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830073348/http://www.tucsonscrabble.com/articles/glossary.html|archive-date=2011-08-30|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Human genetics===
*In human genetics, [[* (haplogroup)|*]] is used to denote that someone is a member of a [[haplogroup]] and not any of its subclades (see [[* (haplogroup)]]).

===Linguistics===
{{anchor|Linguistics}}
In [[linguistics]], an asterisk may be used for a range of purposes depending on what is being discussed. The symbol is used to indicate reconstructed words of [[proto-languages]] (for which there are no records). For modern languages, it may be placed before posited problematic word forms, phrases or sentences to flag that they are hypothetical, ungrammatical, unpronounceable, etc. 

Historical linguist [[August Schleicher]] is cited as first using the asterisk for linguistic purposes, specifically for [[unattested form]]s that are [[linguistic reconstruction]]s.<ref name="Golla"/>{{rp|208}}

Using the asterisk for descriptive and not just historical purposes arose in the 20th century.<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|334}} By analogy with its use in historical linguistics, the asterisk was variously prepended to "hypothetical" or "unattested" elements in modern language.<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|332}} Its usage also expanded to include "non-existent" or "impossible" forms. [[Leonard Bloomfield]] (1933) uses the asterisk with forms such as ''*cran,'' impossible to occur in isolation: ''cran-'' only occurs within the compound ''cranberry''.<ref name="Bloomfield"/>{{rp|160}}<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|331}} Such usage for a "non-existent form" was also found in French, German and Italian works in the middle of the 20th century.<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|332–34}}

Asterisk usage in linguistics later came to include not just impossible forms, but "[[ungrammatical]] sentences", those that are "ill formed for the native speaker".<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|332}} The expansion of asterisk usage to entire sentences is often credited to [[Noam Chomsky]], but Chomsky in 1968 already describes this usage as "conventional".<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|330}} Linguist Fred Householder claims some credit,<ref name="Householder"/>{{rp|365}}<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|331}} but Giorgio Graffi argues that using an asterisk for this purpose predates his works.<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|336}}{{efn|''"...Chomsky adopted, with some delay, a convention which had been (possibly) circulated among generative grammarians by Householder. However, Householder (who was not a generative grammarian) was simply following a practice which had already been introduced by others, and which was so automatic as to be adopted almost unconsciously."''<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|336}}}}

The meaning of the asterisk usage in specific linguistic works may go unelucidated so can be unclear.<ref name="Householder"/>{{rp|369}}{{efn|The numerous and confusing uses are detailed in Householder (1973).<ref name="Householder"/>}} Linguistics sometimes uses double asterisks ({{code|**}}), another symbol such as the [[question mark]], or both symbols (e.g. {{code|?*}}) to indicate degrees of unacceptability.<ref name="Householder"/>{{rp|369}}

==== Historical linguistics ====
In [[historical linguistics]], the asterisk marks words or phrases that are not directly recorded in texts or other media, and that are therefore [[linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] on the basis of other linguistic material by the [[comparative method]].<ref>{{cite web | url= https://thelanguagenerds.com/how-do-we-know-that-proto-indo-european-actually-existed/ | title= Here is how linguists know that extinct languages existed | website= thelanguagenerds.com | access-date= 21 August 2020 | archive-date= 18 August 2020 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200818190807/https://thelanguagenerds.com/how-do-we-know-that-proto-indo-european-actually-existed/ | url-status= dead }}</ref>

In the following example, the [[Proto-Germanic]] word {{lang|gem-x-proto|ainlif}} is a reconstructed form.
* {{lang|gem-x-proto|*ainlif}} → {{wikt-lang|ang|endleofan}} → ''eleven''

A double asterisk ({{code|**}}) sometimes indicates an intermediary or proximate reconstructed form (e.g. a single asterisk for reconstructed [[Old Mandarin|thirteenth century Chinese]] and a double asterisk for reconstructions of older [[Old Chinese|Ancient Chinese]]<ref name="Cheng"/>{{rp|5}} or a double asterisk for proto-[[Popolocan languages|Popolocan]] and a single asterisk for intermediary forms<ref name="Veerman"/>{{rp|322}}).

In other cases, the double asterisk denotes a form that would be expected according to a rule, but is not actually found. That is, it indicates a reconstructed form that is not found or used, and in place of which ''another'' form is found in actual usage:
* For the plural, *{{lang|ar-Latn|*kubar}} would be expected, but separate masculine plural {{lang|ar-Latn|akābir}} {{wikt-lang|ar|أكابر}} and feminine plural {{lang|ar-Latn|kubrayāt}} {{wikt-lang|ar|كبريات}} are found as irregular forms.

==== Ungrammaticality ====
{{Anchor|Generative linguistics|Grammaticality asterisk}}
In most areas of linguistics, but especially in [[syntax]], an asterisk in front of a word or phrase indicates that the word or phrase is not used because it is [[ungrammatical]].<ref name="Graffi"/>{{rp|332}}
*wake her up / *wake up her
An asterisk before a parenthesis indicates that the lack of the word or phrase inside is ungrammatical, while an asterisk after the opening bracket of the parenthesis indicates that the existence of the word or phrase inside is ungrammatical—e.g., the following indicates "go the station" would be ungrammatical:
*go *(to) the station

Use of an asterisk to denote forms or sentences that are ungrammatical is often complemented by the use of the [[question mark]] ({{code|?}}) to indicate a word, phrase or sentence that is avoided, questionable or strange, but not necessarily outright ungrammatical.{{efn|One article notes succinctly that ''"...common practice in linguistics [is that] an asterisk preceding a word, a clause or a sentence is used to indicate ungrammaticality or unacceptability, while a question mark is used to indicate questionable usage"'',<ref name="Xu"/>{{rp|15}} another that, ''"A question mark indicates that the example is marginal; an asterisk indicates unacceptability"''<ref name="Simons"/>{{rp|409}} and another that ''"examples preceded by an asterisk are ungrammatical, and those preceded by a question mark would be considered strange"''.<ref name="Everett"/>{{rp|623}}}}

Other sources go further and use several symbols (e.g. the asterisk, question mark, and [[degree symbol]] {{code|°}}) to indicate gradations or a continuum of acceptability.{{efn|One example is ''"rough approximations of acceptability are given in four gradations and indicated as follows: normal and preferred, no mark; acceptable but not preferred, degree sign {{code|°}}; marginally acceptable, question mark ({{code|?}}); unacceptable, asterisk ({{code|*}})."''<ref name="Timberlake"/>{{rp|123–24}}}}

===== Ambiguity =====
Since a word marked with an asterisk could mean either "unattested" or "impossible", it is important in some contexts to distinguish these meanings. In general, authors retain asterisks for "unattested", and prefix <sup>{{code|x}}</sup>, {{code|**}}, {{code|†}}, or {{code|?}} for the latter meaning.{{efn|For example, one linguistic article states that, ''"A question mark ({{code|?}}) denotes uncertainty; an asterisk ({{code|*}}) indicates a classificatory base not encountered in my own data."''<ref name="Benton"/>{{rp|119}}}}  An alternative is to append the asterisk (or another symbol, possibly to differentiate between even more cases) at the end.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

====Optimality theory====
In [[optimality theory]], asterisks are used as "violation marks" in tableau cells to denote a violation of a constraint by an output form.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCarthy |first1=John J. |title=What Is Optimality Theory? |journal=Language and Linguistics Compass |date=2007 |volume=1 |issue=4 |page=268 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-818X.2007.00018.x |url=http://scholarworks.umass.edu/linguist_faculty_pubs/93/ |access-date=2017-05-02 |archive-date=2017-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403103350/http://scholarworks.umass.edu/linguist_faculty_pubs/93/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Phonetic transcription ====
In phonetic transcription using the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] and similar systems, an asterisk was historically used to denote that the word it preceded was a proper noun.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=International Phonetic Association|title=''The Principles of the International Phonetic Association'' (1949)|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|date=2010|volume=40|issue=3|page=317|doi=10.1017/S0025100311000089|s2cid=232345365|url=http://archive.org/details/principlesofinte00inteuoft|hdl=2027/wu.89001200120|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Vachek |first1=Josef |editor1-last=Luelsdorff |editor1-first=Philip A. |title=Written Language Revisited |date=1989 |publisher=John Benjamins |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZC2mKVQXk_sC&pg=PA152 |chapter=Remarks on redundancy in written language with special regard to capitalization of graphemes |doi=10.1075/z.41 |orig-date=1987 |page=152|isbn=978-90-272-2064-6 }}</ref> See this example from W. Perrett's 1921 transcription of Gottfried Keller's {{lang|de|Das Fähnlein der sieben Aufrechten}}:<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Perrett|first1=W.|title={{IPA|dɔytʃ}}|journal=Textes pour nos Élèves|date=1921|volume=1|page=4|publisher=Association Phonétique Internationale |hdl=2027/wu.89048935472?urlappend=%3Bseq=8 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>
:{{IPA|ˈkɑinə ˈreːdə}}, {{IPA|virt ˈniçts daˈraˑus}}! {{IPA|zɑːktə *ˈheːdigər ˈkurts}}.
:(''{{lang|de|»Keine Rede, wird nichts daraus!« sagte Hediger kurz.}}'')

This convention is no longer usual.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pullum|first1=Geoffrey K.|last2=Ladusaw|first2=William A.|title=Phonetic Symbol Guide|date=1996|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|page=228|edition=2nd|chapter=Asterisk}}</ref>

===Mathematics===
The asterisk has many uses in [[mathematics]]. The following list highlights some common uses and is not exhaustive.

;stand-alone:
* An arbitrary point in some set. Seen, for example, when computing [[Riemann sums]] or when contracting a simply connected group to the singleton set <math>\{\ast\}</math>.
;as a [[unary operator]], denoted in [[prefix notation]]:
* The [[Hodge star operator]] on vector spaces <math>*: A^k \rightarrow A^{n-k}</math>.
;as a unary operator, written as a [[subscript]]:
* The [[pushforward (differential)]] of a [[smooth map]] <math>f</math> between two [[smooth manifolds]], denoted <math>f_*</math>.
* And more generally the application of any covariant [[functor]], where no doubt exists over which functor is meant. 
;as a unary operator, written as a [[superscript]]:
* The [[complex conjugate]] of a [[complex number]] (the more common notation is <math>\bar{z}</math>).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ComplexConjugate.html |title=Complex Conjugate - from Wolfram MathWorld |publisher=Mathworld.wolfram.com |date=2018-09-12 |access-date=2018-09-18 |archive-date=2018-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022122115/http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ComplexConjugate.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The conjugate in a [[composition algebra]]
* The [[conjugate transpose]], Hermitian transpose, or adjoint matrix of a [[Matrix (mathematics)|matrix]].
* [[Hermitian adjoint]].
* The [[multiplicative group]] of the [[unit (ring theory)|units]] of a [[Ring (mathematics)|ring]]; when the ring is a [[Field (mathematics)|field]], this is the group of all nonzero elements. For example, <math>\mathbb{C}^* = \mathbb{C}\setminus\{0\}.</math>
* The [[dual space]] of a [[vector space]] <math>V</math>, denoted <math>V^*</math>.
* The combination of an indexed collection of objects into one example, e.g. the combination of all the [[cohomology|cohomology groups]] <math>H^k(X)</math> into the [[cohomology ring]] <math>H^*(X)</math>.
* The [[reflexive transitive closure]] of a [[binary relation]].
* In statistics, <math>z^*</math> and <math>t^*</math> are given critical points for <math>z</math>-distributions and <math>t</math>-distributions, respectively.
;as a [[binary operator]], in [[infix notation]]:
* A notation for an arbitrary binary operator.
* The [[free product]] of two [[Group (mathematics)|groups]].
* <math>f \ast g</math> is a [[convolution]] of <math>f</math> with <math>g</math>.
* A notation for the [[Natural transformation#Operations with natural transformations|horizontal composition]] of two natural transformations.
* A notation to denote a [[parallel sum]] of two operands (most authors, however, instead use a <math>:</math> or <math>\parallel</math> sign for this purpose).

The asterisk is used in all branches of mathematics to designate a correspondence between two quantities denoted by the same letter – one with the asterisk and one without.

====Mathematical typography====
In fine mathematical typography, the [[Unicode]] character {{unichar|2217|asterisk operator}} (in HTML, &amp;lowast;; not to be confused with {{unichar|204e|low asterisk}}) is available. This character also appeared in the position of the regular asterisk in the [[PostScript]] symbol character set in the ''Symbol'' font included with Windows and Macintosh operating systems and with many printers.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} It should be used for a large asterisk that lines up with the other mathematical operators, sitting on the math centerline rather than on the text baseline.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Unicode Standard |edition=15.0 |chapter=Chapter 22: Symbols |pages=877-878 |year=2022 |url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode15.0.0/ch22.pdf |author=Unicode Consortium}}</ref>

===Music===
* In [[List of musical symbols|musical notation]] the sign [[Image:Music-pedalup.svg|20px]] ({{unichar|1D1AF|MUSICAL SYMBOL PEDAL UP MARK}}) indicates when the [[sustain pedal]] of the piano should be lifted.
* In [[liturgical music]], an asterisk is often used to denote a deliberate pause.

===Religious texts===
*In the Geneva Bible and the King James Bible, an asterisk is used to indicate a marginal comment or scripture reference.
*In the [[Jewish English Bible translations#Isaac Leeser translation|Leeser Bible]], an asterisk is used to mark off the seven subdivisions of the weekly Torah portion. It is also used to mark the few verses to be repeated by the reader of the Haftara.
*In American printings of the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'', an asterisk is used to divide a verse of a Psalm in two portions for responsive reading. British printings use a spaced colon (" : ") for the same purpose.<ref>Thomas MacKellar: ''The American Printer: A Manual of Typography: containing complete instructions for beginners, as well as practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office.'' MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, Philadelphia 1870, p. 55 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=T-0YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA55 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164814/https://books.google.com/books?id=T-0YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA55 |date=2023-03-26 }}).</ref>
*In [[Anglican chant|pointed psalms]], an asterisk is used to denote a break or breath.

===Star of Life===
[[File:Star of life2.svg|thumb|The Star of Life may represent [[emergency medical services]] ]]
A [[Star of Life]], a six-bar asterisk overlaid with the [[Rod of Asclepius]] (the symbol of health), may be used as an alternative to cross or crescent symbols on ambulances.

===Statistical results===
In many scientific publications, the asterisk is employed as a shorthand to denote the [[statistical significance]] of results when testing [[hypothesis|hypotheses]]. When the likelihood that a result occurred by chance alone is below a certain level, one or more asterisks are displayed. Popular significance levels are <0.05 (*), <0.01 (**), and <0.001 (***).

===Telephony <span class="anchor" id="Star key"></span>===
{{further|E.161}}
<!--*****

DO *NOT* ADD THE ASTERISK PBX HERE. IT IS REFERENCED VIA THE DISAMBIG AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE, AND THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT THE SYMBOL ITSELF, NOT THINGS NAMED AFTER IT

*****-->
On a [[Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling|tone dialling]] telephone keypad, the asterisk (called ''star'') is one of the two special keys (the other is the [[Viewdata#Keypad symbols: the sextile and the square|'square]] key{{snd}} almost invariably replaced by the [[number sign]] {{char|#}} (called 'pound sign' (US), 'hash' (other countries), or 'hex'), and is found to the left of the zero<ref name=p>{{Cite web|title=E.161 : Arrangement of digits, letters and symbols on telephones and other devices that can be used for gaining access to a telephone network|url=https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-E.161|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114053110/https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-E.161|archive-date=2019-11-14|access-date=2019-11-14|website=www.itu.int}}</ref>). They are used to navigate menus in systems such as [[voice mail]], or in [[vertical service code]]s. Its [[codepoint]] in [[Unicode]] is {{unichar|2217|html=|nlink=}} as a valid alternative usage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miscellaneous mathematical symbols |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/nameslist/n_2200.html |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>

===Typography===
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2020}}
* The asterisk is used to call out a [[footnote]], especially when there is only one on the page. Less commonly, multiple asterisks are used to denote different footnotes on a page (i.e., *, **, ***).<ref>H. P. Trueman: ''The Eclectic Hand-book of Printing: Containing Practical Instructions to Learners; With Copious Quotations from Standard Works; Forming a Complete Guide to the Art of Printing.'' Second edition, Abel Heywood & Son, London 1880, p. 27 [https://books.google.com/books?id=sCMxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164814/https://books.google.com/books?id=sCMxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 |date=2023-03-26 }}),</ref><ref name="Rogers, 184">Walter Thomas Rogers: ''A Manual of Bibliography: Being an Introduction to the Knowledge of Books, Library Management and the Art of Cataloguing, with a List of Bibliographical Works of Reference, a Latin-English and English-Latin Topographical Index of Ancient Printing Centres, and a Glossary.'' H. Grevel & Co., London 1891, p. 184 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=tqsQAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA184 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164814/https://books.google.com/books?id=tqsQAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA184 |date=2023-03-26 }}).</ref> Typically, an asterisk is positioned after a word or phrase and preceding its accompanying footnote. Other characters are also used for this purpose, such as [[dagger (typography)|dagger]] (†, ‡) or superscript letters and numbers (as in Wikipedia). In marketing and advertising, asterisks or other symbols are used to refer readers discreetly to terms or conditions for a certain statement, the "[[small print]]".
* In English-language typography the asterisk is placed after all other punctuation marks (for example, commas, colons, or periods) except for the dash.<ref>{{Citation |author= United Nations Editorial Manual Online |title= IX. Footnote indicators |url= http://dd.dgacm.org/editorialmanual/ed-guidelines/footnotes/footnotes_chap_09.htm |access-date= 2016-10-03 |archive-date= 2016-10-05 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161005112738/http://dd.dgacm.org/editorialmanual/ed-guidelines/footnotes/footnotes_chap_09.htm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Fogarty, Mignon |title="How to Use an Asterisk," QuickandDirtyTips.com |url=http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-to-use-an-asterisk/ |date=November 15, 2012 |access-date=October 3, 2016 |archive-date=October 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005195751/http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-to-use-an-asterisk |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Section break 02 by Pengo.jpg|thumb|Asterisks used to illustrate a [[section break]] in ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'']]
* Three spaced asterisks centered on a page is called a [[dinkus]] and may represent a jump to a different scene, thought, or [[Section (typography)|section]].
* A group of three asterisks arranged in a triangular formation is called an [[asterism (typography)|asterism]]. It may be used instead of a name on a title page.<ref name="Rogers, 184" />
* One or more asterisks may be used as censorship over all or part of a word.
* Asterisks are sometimes used as an alternative to [[Bullet (typography)|typographical bullets]] to indicate items of a list.
* Asterisks can be used in textual media to represent *[[emphasis (typography)|emphasis]]* when [[bold text|bold]] or [[italic text]] is not available (e.g., [[Twitter]], [[text messaging]]).
* Asterisks may denote conversational [[Conversation analysis#Repair|repair]], or corrections to misspelling or misstatements in previous electronic messages, particularly when replacement or retraction of a previous writing is not possible, such as with "immediate delivery" messages or "instant messages" that can not be edited. Usually this takes the form of a message consisting solely of the corrected text, with an asterisk placed before (or after) the correction. For example, one might send a message reading "*morning" or "morning*" to correct the misspelling in the message "I had a good {{Typo|mro|ning}}".<ref name=":0" />{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
* Bounding asterisks as "a kind of self-describing stage direction", as linguist [[Ben Zimmer]] has put it. For example, in "''Another gas station robbery *sigh*''", the writer uses *sigh* to express disappointment (but does not necessarily literally sigh).<ref>{{cite web |last=Zimmer |first=Ben |title=The cyberpragmatics of bounding asterisks |url=http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4466 |work=Language Log, University of Pennsylvania |access-date=24 August 2013 |archive-date=14 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914011937/http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4466 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Encodings==
{{further|Star (glyph)}}
The [[Unicode]] standard has a variety of asterisk-like characters, compared in the table below. (Characters will display differently in different browsers and fonts.) The reason there are so many is chiefly because of the controversial{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} decision to include in Unicode the entire [[Zapf Dingbats]] symbol font.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" cellpadding="10"
|-
! Asterisk !! Asterisk operator !! Heavy asterisk !! Small asterisk !! Full-width asterisk !! Open-centre asterisk
|- style="font-size: 6em;"
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |*
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |∗
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |✱
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |﹡
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |＊
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |✲
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" cellpadding="10"
! Low asterisk !! [[Arabic star]] !! East Asian [[reference mark]] !! Teardrop-spoked asterisk !! Sixteen-pointed asterisk
|- style="font-size: 6em;"
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |⁎
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |٭
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |※
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |✻
| style="padding:15pt; padding-top:30pt;" class="Unicode" |✺
|}

===In Unicode===
* {{unichar|002A|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|0359|html=|nlink=}}͙
* {{unichar|066D||html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|203B|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2055|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2042|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|204E|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2051|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|20F0|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2217|html=|nlink=}} May be used as the [[star key (telephony)]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Miscellaneous mathematical symbols |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/nameslist/n_2200.html |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>
* {{unichar|229B|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2722|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2723|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2724|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2725|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2731|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2732|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2733|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|273A|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|273B|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|273C|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|273D|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2743|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2749|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|274A|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|274B|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|29C6|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|2A6E|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|A673|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|FE61|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|FF0A|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1D1AF|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7AF|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B0|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B1|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B2|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B3|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B4|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B5|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B6|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B7|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B8|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7B9|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7BA|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7BB|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7BC|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7BD|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7BE|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|1F7BF|html=|nlink=}}
* {{unichar|E002A|html=|nlink=}}

==See also==
* {{Annotated link |Arabic star}}
* {{Annotated link |Asterism (typography)}}
* {{Annotated link |Dagger (mark)}}
* {{Annotated link|Dinkus}}
* {{Annotated link|Obelism}}, for example to identify errors
* [[List of typographical symbols and punctuation marks]]
*[[Reference mark]] ({{lang|ja-Latn|komejirushi}}), the symbol used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean typography for an equivalent purpose
* [[Astrological aspect#Sextile|Sextile]]{{snd}} an asterisk-like astrological symbol (⚹), six lines radiating at 60⁰ intervals

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Benton">{{cite journal |last=Benton |first=Richard A. |date=Winter 1968 |title=Numeral and Attributive Classifiers in Trukese |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3622896 |journal=Oceanic Linguistics |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=104–146 |doi=10.2307/3622896 |jstor=3622896 |access-date=5 September 2023}}</ref>
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}}

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