Betelgeuse

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Betelgeuse

/ˈbiːtəldʒuːz/ UK
/ˈbiːtəldʒuːs/ UK
/ˈbitəlˌdʒus/ US
/ˈbɛtəlˌdʒus/ US
/ˈbitəlˌdʒuz/ US
/ˈbɛtəlˌdʒuz/ US

Where it comes from

Ultimately from an alteration of the Arabic يَد الجَوْزَاء (yad al-jawzāʔ, “hand of the central one (i.e., Orion)”), from يَد (yad, “hand”) + جَوْزَاء (jawzāʔ, “central one”).

Jawzā, ‘the central one’, initially referred to Gemini among the Arabs, but the name was later transferred to Orion. During the Middle Ages the first character of the name, yā’ (ي, with two underdots), was misread as a bā’ (ب, with one underdot) when transliterating into Latin, thus *Yedalgeuze became Bedalgeuze. This was then misinterpreted during the Renaissance as deriving from a corruption of an original Arabic form إِبْط الجَوْزَاء (ʔibṭ al-jawzāʔ, “armpit of the central one”).

proper noun Betelguez

A bright-red supergiant intrinsic variable star, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion; Alpha (α) Orionis. It is the tenth brightest star in the nighttime, and one of the largest stars known. Even if you don’t know it by name, the red supergiant star Betelgeuse is one of the most familiar sights in the heavens above—a gleaming ruddy dot at the shoulder of the constellation Orion. Although already quite difficult to overlook, Betelgeuse has become even more eye-catching across the past fe
Similar: Alpha Orionis

Translations

Every language

name supergiant

Español	Betelgeuse
한국어	베텔게우스 betelge'useu, 베텔기우스 betelgiuseu
日本語	ベテルギウス Beterugiusu
中文	參宿四 /参宿四 Shēnxiùsì
हिन्दी	आर्द्रा तारा ārdrā tārā
Kiswahili	Ibuti la Jauza
Português	Betelgeuse
Français	Bételgeuse
Deutsch	Beteigeuze
Italiano	Betelgeuse
Ελληνικά	Μπετελγκέζ Betelgkéz, Βετελγόζης Vetelgózis
Română	Betelgeuse
Русский	Бетельге́йзе Betelʹgéjze
Tiếng Việt	Betelgeuse
العربية	مَنْكِب اَلْجَوْزَاء mankib al-jawzāʔ
עברית	ביטלג׳וז

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MLA

"Betelgeuse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/betelgeuse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Betelgeuse. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/betelgeuse

Chicago

"Betelgeuse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/betelgeuse.

BibTeX

@misc{betelgeuse_2026,
  title = {Betelgeuse},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/betelgeuse},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}