An asterisk in computer programming. A regular expression followed by an asterisk ( * ) matches zero or more occurrences of the regular expression. The asterisk is a punctuation mark that looks like a little star ( * ). Within a text, an asterisk is typed directly after the final punctuation of the sentence it relates to, but before a dash. When you have written something (like a note, an essay or a letter etc), you might want to say more or comment on some aspect of the text later and this aspect would come right at the bottom of the page along with an asterisk. Where it is still used is in this way, however, is in censoring words, usually swear words or those likely to cause offense. asterisk: 1 n a star-shaped character (*) used in printing Synonyms: star Type of: character , grapheme , graphic symbol a written symbol that is used to represent speech v mark with an asterisk Synonyms: star Type of: mark make or leave a mark on The asterisk and the use of three as a triangle are all original to that cuneiform writing system as a pre-determinative sign indicating stars and the names of constellations. An asterisk is used to indicate a reference point or another author's work in the body of text. Rules and Examples. The asterisk is made on your keyboard by holding the SHIFT key and pressing the 8 on the top number line. The single 'asterisk' often denoted the proper names of gods and goddesses of Mesopotamian tradition. The asterisk is made on your keyboard by holding the SHIFT key and pressing the 8 on the top number line. Just because you use an asterisk to leap from one topic to the other does not mean that you are eliciting a higher poetic truth by the careful collaging of your fragmented bits. Another example of an asterisk is in the nonexecutable statement used with some programming languages. The asterisk has already been used as a symbol in ice age cave paintings. Properly use an Asterisk. Mere motion is substituted for real momentum. But we didn’t use the asterisk. Before we get too far into a discussion of that word, note that this is not an essay on race – instead, it’s an apologia for the asterisk. Whenever an asterisk is placed within a text, a corresponding asterisk is placed at the bottom of the page, within the footer … The typographical symbol dagger (†) has several meanings. The asterisk is used as a cheat, elision as a kind of magician’s cape to conceal a total lack of scene architecture. The asterisk represents a wildcard or wild character with computers. For example, when typing *.TXT in a search or find field, the computer would look for any file ending with .TXT. Possibly its most common use is as a footnote marker. A regular expression followed by a plus sign ( + ) matches one or more occurrences of the one-character regular expression. We use the asterisk in English writing to show that a footnote, reference or comment has been added to the original text. The asterisk is a punctuation mark that looks like a little star ( * ).. Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses. Functions of an Asterisk in English Language and Punctuation For Footnotes. An asterisk in a wildcard. If there is any choice, the first matching string in a line is used. There is also a two thousand year old character used by Aristarchus of Samothrace called the asteriskos, ※, which he used when proofreading Homeric poetry to mark lines that were duplicated. 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