Standard Lemma guide

lodestar

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈləʊd.stɑː(ɹ)/
  • General-American: /ˈloʊd.stɑɹ/
  • Australian: /ˈləʉd.staː(ɹ)/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: L OW1 D S T AA2 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A star used as a navigation reference, particularly a pole star such as Polaris.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A guiding tenet or principle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A calculated amount to award as attorney's fees derived by multiplying the reasonable number of hours spent working on a case by the reasonable hourly billing rate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

something that serves as a model or guide

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: loadstar

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: model, example

5

noun

Meaning 5

guiding star; a star that is used as a reference point in navigation or astronomy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: loadstar

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: star

Narrower terms: Polaris, North Star, pole star, polar star, polestar

History

Etymology

From Middle English lode (“journey, course”) + star, where lode is an archaic noun from the verb lithe (“to go, journey”), related to lead. Other Middle English spellings include: 14th century loode sterre, lood-sterre, lade-sterne; and 15th century lode sterre. Cognate with Old Norse leiðarstjarna, Dutch leidster, German Leitstern, Danish ledestjerne, Swedish ledstjärna.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: пътеводна звезда (pǎtevodna zvezda) — star used as navigation reference
  • Chinese Mandarin: 指示方向之星 (zhǐshì fāngxiàng zhī xīng) — star used as navigation reference
  • Chinese Mandarin: 北極星 /北极星 (Běijíxīng) — star used as navigation reference
  • Chinese Mandarin: 北辰 (Běichén) — star used as navigation reference
  • Danish: ledestjerne — star used as navigation reference
  • Dutch: poolster — star used as navigation reference
  • Dutch: leidster — star used as navigation reference
  • Finnish: johtotähti — star used as navigation reference
  • French: étoile polaire — star used as navigation reference
  • German: Leitstern — star used as navigation reference
  • Japanese: 北極星 (Hokkyokusei) — star used as navigation reference
  • Japanese: ポラリス (Porarisu) — star used as navigation reference
  • Norwegian: ledestjerne — star used as navigation reference
  • Persian: ستاره قطبی — star used as navigation reference
  • Polish: gwiazda polarna — star used as navigation reference
  • Polish: gwiazda przewodnia — star used as navigation reference
  • Russian: путево́дная звезда́ (putevódnaja zvezdá) — star used as navigation reference
  • Serbo-Croatian: zv(ij)ezda vodilja — star used as navigation reference
  • Swedish: ledstjärna — star used as navigation reference
  • Vietnamese: sao bắc cực — star used as navigation reference
  • Vietnamese: 𣋀北極 — star used as navigation reference
  • Chinese Mandarin: 指導原理 /指导原理 (zhǐdǎo yuánlǐ) — guiding tenet
  • Danish: ledestjerne — guiding tenet
  • Dutch: leidster — guiding tenet
  • Finnish: johtotähti — guiding tenet
  • German: Leitstern — guiding tenet
  • Japanese: 指導原理 (shidō kenri) — guiding tenet
  • Norwegian: ledestjerne — guiding tenet
  • Polish: gwiazda przewodnia — guiding tenet
  • Portuguese: estrela guia — guiding tenet
  • Romanian: stea călăuzitoare — guiding tenet
  • Russian: путево́дная звезда́ (putevódnaja zvezdá) — guiding tenet
  • Serbo-Croatian: zv(ij)ezda vodilja — guiding tenet
  • Swedish: ledstjärna — guiding tenet