An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Stern

by Friedrich Kluge

Stern, masculine, ‘star,’ from the equivalent Middle High German stërne, Old High German sterno, masculine (Old High German and Middle High German variant stërn); compare Gothic staírnô, feminine, Old Icelandic stjarna, feminine, ‘star.’ Old High German stër-no seems to be linked with Old High German sun-no, mâ-no, like Gothic staírnô, feminine, with Gothic sun-nô, feminine; the earlier Middle High German variant stërre, Old High German and Old Saxon stërro, lead to Dutch ster, star, Anglo-Saxon steorra, English star. The primary stem ster is common in the same sense to the Aryan group (compare Mond and Sonne); to it correspond Sanscrit star, Zend stare, Greek ἀστήρ, ἀστρον, Latin stella (for *sterula). Whether this root ster belongs to the Aryan root stṛ, ‘to scatter’ (Stern, literally ‘dispenser of light’?), or to the Sanscrit root as, ‘to throw’ (Stern, literally ‘thrower of rays’?), is altogether uncertain. To this is allied the Modern High German collective Gestirn, neuter, ‘stars, constellation,’ from Middle High German gestirne, Old High German gistirni. —

Stern, masculine, ‘stern,’ Modern High German only, comes from the equivalent English stern (Old Icelandic stjórn), a derivative of the root of Steuern.