Stjarfa

Stjarfa is a term found in Icelandic and other North Germanic linguistic traditions that refers to a star in a historical or poetic sense. In modern Icelandic, the standard word for a star is stjarna; stjarfa is not part of everyday vocabulary but occurs as an archaic or dialectal variant in earlier texts and in poetic diction.

Etymology and usage: Stjarfa is generally understood as a variant of the same root as stjarna, appearing in manuscripts or in poetry to satisfy metre or rhyme. It is most often encountered in literary contexts rather than scientific descriptions, and may be used metaphorically to evoke brightness, guidance, or distance.

Modern status: The term is not used as a name for a celestial object, a scientific instrument, or an organization in contemporary astronomy. Contemporary Icelandic dictionaries classify stjarfa as archaic or poetic, and it is studied mainly by scholars of historical linguistics and literature.

See also: stjarna, stjörnur.