Cynosure (Noun)

Definition 1: Ursa minor or the North Star which it contains, hence that which provides guidance or attracts attention by its brilliance.

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Usage 1: Here is another exorbitantly beautiful word grossly underutilized. We should take a cue from Milton, who wrote in "L'Allegro" (1645), " Where perhaps some Beauty lies, / The Cynosure of neighbouring eyes. " The adjective is "cynosural."

Suggested usage: As in Milton's lines, "cynosure" is usually associated with something or someone lustrous. "Letitia lilted down the stairs in a gown of silver and white damask that made her the immediate cynosure of the party." But we can widen the meaning, as well, since the word also refers to a constellation used to find direction: "Vadim's house sat at the junction of three roads, a cynosure for anyone trying to find their way through the mountains."

Etymology: From Greek kynosoura "dog-tail," from kuon, kynos "dog" + oura "tail." The PIE root *kwon-, from which "kuon" derives, made it to English as "hound." In Latin it became canis "dog" from which we get "canine" and "canary," as in "Canary Islands" (based on Latin Canariae Insulae "Islands of Dogs"). The root *ors- "tail," which produced the second constituent in Greek, became (Harrumph!) "arse" in English. So the roots of today's word spans the celestial and the profane—quite a historical embrace. For more on PIE, read "How is a Hippo like a Feather in YDC's library. (The cynosure of today's word is Stewart Black, who suggested to us this astronomical word.)

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