morning star

See also: morningstar and Morning Star

English


Noun

morning star (plural morning stars)

  1. The planet Venus as observed in the eastern sky around dawn.
    Synonym: Phosphorus
    Antonyms: evening star, Hesperus
    The evening star is the morning star. (Hesperus is Phosphorus.)
    • 1847, Alfred Tennyson, The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], OCLC 2024748, part III, page 47:
      Morn in the white wake of the morning star / Came furrowing all the orient into gold.
    • 1979, Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, “The Rainbow Connection”, The Muppet Movie, Henson Associates and ITC Entertainment
      Who said that every wish would be heard and answered / When wished on the morning star? / Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it / And look what it's done so far.
  2. (biblical) Lucifer, Satan, the devil.
    • Bible (New International Version), Isaiah 14:12:
      How you have fallen from heaven,
      morning star, son of the dawn!
      You have been cast down to the earth,
      you who once laid low the nations!
  3. (less commonly) The planet Mercury as observed in the eastern sky around dawn.
    Synonym: Apollo
    Antonyms: evening star, Hermes
  4. (military) A weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes attached rigidly to a staff, in contrast to a flail.
    Synonyms: holy water sprinkler, morgenstern
    • 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 55:
      Contrivances like these, except that the balls were armed with spikes, were long carried by the pioneers of the trained bands, or city militia, they are generally called morning stars.

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Further reading
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