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lodestar
noun
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If you’re looking for inspiration, lodestar may represent the mother lode. The literal, albeit archaic, meaning of lodestar is “a star that leads or guides”; it is a term that has been used especially in reference to the North Star, a star in the Ursa Minor, or Little Dipper, constellation. The lode in both lodestar and mother lode comes from the Middle English word for “course” (lode is still used in some parts of England to mean “waterway”). Both the starry sense of lodestar and the more earthly “something or someone that leads or guides a person or group of people” meaning date back to the 14th century, the time of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who used both in his work. The literal sense had mostly fallen out of use by the early 17th century, but the figurative use shines on.
Examples of lodestar in a Sentence
Word History
Middle English lode sterre, from lode course, from Old English lād
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Lodestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lodestar. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
lodestar
nounLegal Definition
lodestar
nounperhaps from the notion of the lodestar as a guiding light or principle
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