An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Stern

by Friedrich Kluge

Stern, m., ‘star,’ from the equiv. MidHG. stërne, OHG. sterno, m. (OHG. and MidHG. variant stërn); comp. Goth. staírnô, f., OIc. stjarna, f., ‘star.’ OHG. stër-no seems to be linked with OHG. sun-no, mâ-no, like Goth. staírnô, f., with Goth. sun-nô, f.; the earlier MidHG. variant stërre, OHG. and OSax. stërro, lead to Du. ster, star, AS. steorra, E. star. The primary stem ster is common in the same sense to the Aryan group (comp. Mond and Sonne); to it correspond Sans. star, Zend stare, Gr. ἀστήρ, ἀστρον, Lat. stella (for *sterula). Whether this root ster belongs to the Aryan root stṛ, ‘to scatter’ (Stern, lit. ‘dispenser of light’?), or to the Sans. root as, ‘to throw’ (Stern, lit. ‘thrower of rays’?), is altogether uncertain. To this is allied the ModHG. collective Gestirn, n., ‘stars, constellation,’ from MidHG. gestirne, OHG. gistirni. —

Stern, m., ‘stern,’ ModHG. only, comes from the equiv. E. stern (OIc. stjórn), a derivative of the root of Steuern.