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star

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Stars (1, 2).
A star shape (3).

Etymology

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From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (star), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (star), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (star). Doublet of aster; related to estoile, étoile, stella, and stelo.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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star (plural stars)

  1. Any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.
    He loved watching the stars in the sky with her.
    1. (astrology, typically in the plural) A planet thought to influence one's fate; (figuratively) fate or luck.
      What's in the stars for you today? Find out in our horoscope.
      star-crossed (meaning 'ill-fated')
  2. (astronomy) A very massive ball of plasma with strong enough gravity to have ongoing fusion of hydrogen or heavier elements in its core. In strict technical usage, the Sun is included.
  3. senses derived from the apparent shape of a star in the sky when blurred by the eyes to have streaks
    1. A shape made of a few streaks meeting at a shared midpoint.
      1. (printing) An asterisk (*) or comparable symbol (e.g., ★, ☆, ✶, ✦, ✧, ✷, ✪, ⭐) inspired by a celestial star.
        • 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:
          Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.
      2. (networking, figurative in origin) A network topology with multiple computers individually merging to one central switch, thus free of risk of collisions. A single point of failure can occur if the switch experiences corruption.
      3. A simple dance, or part of a dance, where a group of four dancers each put their right or left hand in the middle and turn around in a circle. You call them right-hand stars or left-hand stars, depending on the hand which is in the middle.
    2. (shapes, geometry) A concave polygon with regular, pointy protrusions and indentations, usually with four, five, or six points.
      1. A star-shaped ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honour in a military. Now often used metonymically for military rankings.
      2. A symbol used to rate hotels, films, etc. with a higher number of stars denoting better quality.
        • 2025 August 25, Kelefa Sanneh, “How Music Criticism Lost Its Edge”, in The New Yorker[1], →ISSN:
          And the first music review I remember reading was in Rolling Stone, which rated albums on a scale of one to five stars, or so I thought. In 1990, the début solo album by Andrew Ridgeley, who had sung alongside George Michael in the pop duo Wham!, was awarded only half a star.
  4. senses relating to fame
    1. (acting) An actor in a leading role.
      Many Hollywood stars attended the launch party.
    2. An exceptionally talented or famous person, often in a specific field; a celebrity.
      His teacher tells us he is a star pupil.
      I met my favourite star at the public event.
      • 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, “The Shadow of the Bat”, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 8:
        Star reporter, leg-man, cub, veteran gray in the trade—one and all they tried to pin the Bat like a caught butterfly to the front page of their respective journals—soon or late each gave up, beaten. He was news— [] —the brief, staccato recital of his career in the morgues of the great dailies grew longer and more incredible each day.
    3. (figurative) (Someone's) success or fame.
      someone's star is rising / has risen
      • 2019 September 17, Edward Snowden, Permanent Record, New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN:
        It’s only in hindsight that I’m able to appreciate just how high my star had risen. I’d gone from being the student who couldn’t speak in class to being the teacher of the language of a new age, from the child of modest, middle-class Beltway parents to the man living the island life and making so much money that it had lost its meaning.
  5. (Jamaica, MLE, African-American Vernacular, by extension) A friend, a mate, a pal.
    • 2003, Michael Maynard, Games Men Play, page 127:
      "Wha'ppen, star!" Hector said, grinning to reveal a gold-capped tooth. He told everyone it was solid twenty-four carat, but if it was, he would have wrenched it out with pliers to pawn to the highest bidder by now.
    • 2003, “Soap Bar”, in The Manifesto[2], performed by Goldie Looking Chain:
      Hello claat, what you doing spar? [] It's got three ring tones, that's the name for the ring. There's this one, right (ring tone sounds). That's fucking safe, spar. But mostly, I bought it for this, check this one out, claat!
    • 2017, Les Back, New Ethnicities and Urban Culture: Racisms and Multiculture in Young Lives[3]:
      Switches character to the street-wise Ragamuffin, speaking out of the corner of his mouth in Creole: "Whappen now star! Seckle, seckle now people! Cool, cool na baass! [what is happening friends? Settle down]
    • 2022, Moses McKenzie, An Olive Grove in Ends[4]:
      'Dey ain't mine,' Stacey snapped, flicking her head towards the yutes in the bedroom. 'I'm juss lookin after dem fi mi fren dem. I only av six pickney by tree men enuh, star.'
  6. A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.

Usage notes

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  • In traditional use, the planets are stars but the sun is not; in astronomy, the sun is a star but the planets are not (and the Earth is counted among the planets).

Synonyms

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Hypernyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Sranan Tongo: stari
    • Aukan: sitali
  • Finnish: stara
  • French: star
  • German: Star
  • Italian: star
  • Swahili: staa

Translations

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See also

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Verb

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star (third-person singular simple present stars, present participle starring, simple past and past participle starred)

  1. (intransitive) To appear as a featured performer or headliner, especially in an entertainment program.
    She starred in dozens of silent movies.
    • 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
      I was inundated with invitations; [] I felt, indeed, much as a great actor must when he goes 'starring' in the provinces.
  2. (transitive) To feature (a performer or a headliner), especially in a movie or an entertainment program.
    The show stars Calista Flockhart as a high-powered lawyer.
    • 2004, David W. Menefee, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, page 4:
      "What followed this decision was exactly what we had expected: Mr. Fox, realizing that the public was tiring of Theda Bara in vampire roles, announced that he would star her in a production of Romeo and Juliet," she illustrated.
  3. (transitive) To mark with a star or asterisk.
  4. (transitive) To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle.
  5. (intransitive) To shine like a star.

Synonyms

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Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Dutch

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch star, from Old Dutch *star, from Proto-West Germanic *star, from Proto-Germanic *staraz.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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star (comparative starder, superlative starst)

  1. stiff, frozen
  2. rigid

Declension

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Declension of star
uninflected star
inflected starre
comparative starder
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial star starder het starst
het starste
indefinite m./f. sing. starre stardere starste
n. sing. star starder starste
plural starre stardere starste
definite starre stardere starste
partitive stars starders

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • star” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English star. Doublet of aster.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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star f (plural stars)

  1. star (celebrity)
    Elle est devenue star.She's become a star.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Italian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English star.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈstar/
  • Rhymes: -ar
  • Hyphenation: stàr

Noun

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star f (invariable)

  1. star (celebrity)
    Synonyms: celebrità, divo
    star del cinemamovie star
  2. (mathematics) asterisk, pronunciation of * symbol
    Near-synonym: asterisco

Anagrams

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Jamaican Creole

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Noun

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star (plural star dem, quantified star)

  1. A friend, a mate, a pal
    • 2008 August 26, “Kill Dem” (track 9), in Most Wanted[5], performed by Vybz Kartel:
      Me full ah gun pon di Gaza. Run some boy file and find out dem a barber. Jah know star, what dem ah try?
      I empty a gun on the Gaza. I run some boy's file and find out they're a barber. God knows mate, what are they trying to do?
    • 2009, “Whe Dem A Go Run Go”‎[6]performed by Vybz Kartel, 01:58-02:01:
      Whe dem a go run go, Whe dem a go run go star? Start way dem caan run go far.
      Where are they going to, where are they going to run to friend? They start to go away but they can’t get far (before getting shot).

Maltese

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Root
s-t-r
4 terms

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Arabic سِتَار (sitār).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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star m (plural stari)

  1. veil
    Synonym: (commoner) velu

Middle English

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Noun

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star

  1. alternative form of sterre

Mirandese

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Etymology

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Inherited from Latin stāre.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈs̺taɾ/ [ˈs̺t̪aɾ]
  • Rhymes: -aɾ
  • Syllabification: star

Verb

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star (first-person singular present stou, first-person singular preterite stube, past participle stado)

  1. to be (indicates a temporary state)

Conjugation

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See also

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  • ser (to be) (indicates a permanent quality)

References

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  • Moisés, Pires (2004), “star”, in Pequeno vocabulário Mirandês-Português [Small Mirandese-Portuguese Vocabulary], 2nd edition, Miranda do Douro: Câmara Municipal de Miranda do Douro, published 2019, →ISBN, page 493.

Northern Kurdish

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Etymology

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Akin to Central Kurdish ستار (star, retire, retreat, take refuge), originally a descendant of Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- but now conflated with Arabic سِتَار (sitār), hence the second sense. Proposed to be the name of an ancient deity by some based on the common expression "Ya Star!" ("O Star!", said to ask God for endurance and strength).

Noun

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star f

  1. standing, the ability to stand or stay at one's place, strength, energy; not worrying or being bored, calmness.
  2. protection, coverage

Synonyms

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  • (the ability to stand, strength of legs, energy): qidûm

Derived terms

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Noun

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star m (definite singular staren, indefinite plural starar, definite plural starane)

  1. alternative form of stare

Noun

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star m (definite singular staren, indefinite plural starar, definite plural starane)

  1. (pre-2012) alternative form of stær

Portuguese

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Verb

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star (first-person singular present stou, first-person singular preterite stive, past participle stado)

  1. obsolete spelling of estar

Conjugation

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This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English star. Doublet of aster and stea.

Noun

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star n (plural staruri)

  1. star (famous person)

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative star starul staruri starurile
genitive-dative star starului staruri starurilor
vocative starule starurilor

Sabir

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Etymology

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From Italian stare (to be).

Verb

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star

  1. to be

References

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  • Feissat et Demonchy, Dictionnaire de la Langue Franque, ou Petit Mauresque

Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *starъ.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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stȁr (Cyrillic spelling ста̏р, definite stȃrī, comparative stàrijī)

  1. old
    Antonym: mlȃd

Declension

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positive indefinite forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative star stara staro
genitive stara stare stara
dative staru staroj staru
accusative inanimate
animate
star
stara
staru staro
vocative star stara staro
locative staru staroj staru
instrumental starim starom starim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative stari stare stara
genitive starih starih starih
dative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
accusative stare stare stara
vocative stari stare stara
locative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
instrumental starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
positive definite forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative stari stara staro
genitive starog(a) stare starog(a)
dative starom(u/e) staroj starom(u/e)
accusative inanimate
animate
stari
starog(a)
staru staro
vocative stari stara staro
locative starom(e/u) staroj starom(e/u)
instrumental starim starom starim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative stari stare stara
genitive starih starih starih
dative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
accusative stare stare stara
vocative stari stare stara
locative starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
instrumental starim(a) starim(a) starim(a)
comparative forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative stariji starija starije
genitive starijeg(a) starije starijeg(a)
dative starijem(u) starijoj starijem(u)
accusative inanimate
animate
stariji
starijeg(a)
stariju starije
vocative stariji starija starije
locative starijem(u) starijoj starijem(u)
instrumental starijim starijom starijim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative stariji starije starija
genitive starijih starijih starijih
dative starijim(a) starijim(a) starijim(a)
accusative starije starije starija
vocative stariji starije starija
locative starijim(a) starijim(a) starijim(a)
instrumental starijim(a) starijim(a) starijim(a)
superlative forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative najstariji najstarija najstarije
genitive najstarijeg(a) najstarije najstarijeg(a)
dative najstarijem(u) najstarijoj najstarijem(u)
accusative inanimate
animate
najstariji
najstarijeg(a)
najstariju najstarije
vocative najstariji najstarija najstarije
locative najstarijem(u) najstarijoj najstarijem(u)
instrumental najstarijim najstarijom najstarijim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative najstariji najstarije najstarija
genitive najstarijih najstarijih najstarijih
dative najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a)
accusative najstarije najstarije najstarija
vocative najstariji najstarije najstarija
locative najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a)
instrumental najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a) najstarijim(a)

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • star”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026
  • star”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

Slovene

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *starъ.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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stȁr (comparative starȇjši, superlative nȁjstarȇjši)

  1. old, aged
    Antonym: mlad
    Star sem dvajset let.I'm twenty years old.

Declension

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Unknown tone or non-tonal
The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Hard
masculine feminine neuter
nom. sing. stàr stára stáro
singular
masculine feminine neuter
nominative stàr ind
stári def
stára stáro
genitive stárega stáre stárega
dative stáremu stári stáremu
accusative nominativeinan or
genitive
anim
stáro stáro
locative stárem stári stárem
instrumental stárim stáro stárim
dual
masculine feminine neuter
nominative stára stári stári
genitive stárih stárih stárih
dative stárima stárima stárima
accusative stára stári stári
locative stárih stárih stárih
instrumental stárima stárima stárima
plural
masculine feminine neuter
nominative stári stáre stára
genitive stárih stárih stárih
dative stárim stárim stárim
accusative stáre stáre stára
locative stárih stárih stárih
instrumental stárimi stárimi stárimi

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • star”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
  • star”, in Termania, Amebis
  • See also the general references

Venetan

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Etymology

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From Latin stāre. Compare Italian stare.

Verb

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star

  1. (transitive) to stay or remain
  2. (transitive) to live (somewhere)

Conjugation

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* Venetan conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.