lodestar

views updated May 14 2018

lode·star / ˈlōdˌstär/ • n. a star that is used to guide the course of a ship, esp. Polaris. ∎ fig. a person or thing that serves as a guide: she was his intellectual lodestar.

lodestar

views updated Jun 27 2018

lodestar a star that is used to guide the course of a ship, especially the pole star. The word is recorded from Middle English, and the first element means ‘way, course’. The figurative use developed early and was popular up to the 17th century; it was then revived in the early 19th century.