morningstar
morningstar Lexical Profile
morningstar Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A medieval club-like weapon consisting of a wooden or metal shaft topped with a heavy ball studded with spikes.
"The historical museum's medieval armory collection features an authentic sixteenth-century morningstar alongside several ornate halberds."
A bright planet, typically Venus or occasionally Mercury, seen in the eastern sky just before sunrise (more commonly spelled as two words, morning star).
"Before the sun rose over the horizon, the astronomer pointed out the gleaming morningstar in the eastern sky."
Word Nuance & Usage
The closed spelling "morningstar" is most commonly used in historical contexts for the medieval spiked club, whereas the open form "morning star" is standard in astronomy when referring to the planet Venus.
Word Origin & Etymology
In its astronomical sense, the word descends from Old English "morgensteorra." The sense referring to a spiked medieval club is a calque of the 16th-century German "Morgenstern," named for the weapon's radiating spikes resembling the points of a star.