aster

UK: /ˈæstə/ US: /ˈæstɚ/ ,(as′tər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

as•ter /ˈæstɚ/   n. [countable]

1. Plant Biology a plant having rays of white, pink, or blue around a yellow disk.

See -astro-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

as•ter  (as′tər), n. 

1. Plant Biology any composite plant of the genus Aster, having rays varying from white or pink to blue around a yellow disk.
2. Plant Biology a plant of some allied genus, as the China aster.
3. Cell Biology a structure formed in a cell during mitosis, composed of astral rays radiating about the centrosome.
4. Furniture Furniture. sunflower (def. 2).

• Greek asté̄r star
• Latin
• 1595–1605

-aster¹ ,

1. a diminutive or pejorative suffix denoting something that imperfectly resembles or mimics the true thing: criticaster;
   poetaster, oleaster.

• Latin

-aster² ,

1. [Chiefly Biol.] a combining form with the meaning "star,'' used in the formation of compound words:
   diaster.

• Greek asté̄r star; compare astro-

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

aster / ˈæstə/ noun

1. any plant of the genus Aster, having white, blue, purple, or pink daisy-like flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)
2. China aster ⇒ a related Chinese plant, Callistephus chinensis, widely cultivated for its showy brightly coloured flowers

Etymology: 18th Century: from New Latin, from Latin aster star, from Greek

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-aster suffix:forming_nouns

1. a person or thing that is inferior or bears only a poor resemblance to what is specified

Etymology: from Latin: suffix indicating imperfect resemblance