Asteism

n. [ Gr. &unr_; refined and witty talk, fr. &unr_; of the town, polite, witty, fr. &unr_; city: cf. F. astéisme. ] (Rhet.) Genteel irony; a polite and ingenious manner of deriding another. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, fr. 'asth`r star; cf. F. astérisme. ] 1. (Astron.) (a) A constellation. [ Obs. ] (b) A small cluster of stars. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Printing) (a) An asterisk, or mark of reference. [ R. ] (b) Three asterisks placed in this manner, &asterism_;, to direct attention to a particular passage. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Crystallog.) An optical property of some crystals which exhibit a star-shaped by reflected light, as star sapphire, or by transmitted light, as some mica. [ 1913 Webster ]