Some graphic signs of Portuguese language usually generate doubts about their employment and also about their origin. Some are used more, others less so. Among these graphic signs is the asterisk, the one that looks like a little star. Do you know the function of the asterisk in the Portuguese language? Because know that it has several functions, and the kids school will explain to you how and when to use it.
Let's start with the word “asterisk”? Where did it come from? The word “asterisk”, like most words in the Portuguese language, comes from Latin - asteriscum -, whose meaning is “little star”. Did you see? It is not by chance that some people end up using the expression “little star” to refer to the sign. You may not know it, but the asterisk has a thousand and one uses! In addition to its role as graphic sign of our language, it is considered a wildcard in computing, as it can replace any character in search engines. There is also a variation as to its shape: some shapes have five points, others six points.
Now that you know some fun facts about the asterisk, how about we talk about its grammatical functions?
When using the asterisk:
☺ The asterisk is placed after and above a word in the passage to quote or comment on the term in a footnote (the note footnote is an annotation placed at the foot of a page in a book or document, adding a reference or source comment from some part of the text).
E.g.: The word beauty is formed by the adjective beautiful, which loses the thematic vowel -o, plus the suffix -eza*.
* O suffix -eza is a nominal suffix which is juxtaposed to an adjective, giving rise to a new noun.
☺ If the asterisk appears repeated three times, it indicates an omission or gap in a text, especially when substituting a proper noun:
E.g.: The minor *** was seized after committing a crime.
☺ When the asterisk is placed before and at the top of the word, it will represent a word whose existence is likely, although not proven:
E.g.: Opinion, from the Latin *appears.
☺ If it is before a sentence, it means that it is ungrammatical, that is, a sentence that does not respect the grammatical rules:
Ex.: * Teacher at school in the student taught it.
Now that you know the curiosities and functions of the asterisk, one more thing about this graphic sign remains to be learned... After all, which one is correct, asterisk or asterisk?
Correct spelling and pronunciation is ASTERISK.
no talking *asteristic, right? ☺
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters