cynosure
/ˈsaɪnəʃʊɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.68 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Cynosure: Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators.
noun
That which serves to guide or direct; a guiding star.
noun
Something that is the center of attention; an object that serves as a focal point of attraction and admiration.
name
Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators.
Example Sentences
- "let faith be your cynosure to walk by"
- "Towers, and battlements it sees Bosom'd high in tufted trees, Where perhaps some beauty lies, The cynosure of neighbouring eyes."
- "Meanwhile the fair young Queen, in her halls of state, walks like a goddess of Beauty, the cynosure of all eyes; as yet mingles not with affairs; heeds not the future; least of all, dreads it."
- "With anglophobia driving out anglophilia, the king – as during the Seven Years War – came to represent the very cynosure of patriotic zeal."
Etymology
From Middle French Cynosure (“Ursa Minor; Polaris”), from Latin Cynosūra (“Ursa Minor”), from Ancient Greek Κυνόσουρα (Kunósoura, “Ursa Minor”, literally “dog’s tail”), from κυνός (kunós, “dog's”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Cynosure, Cynosūra, Κυνόσουρα
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsaɪnəʃʊɹ/
- British English: /ˈsɪnəzjʊə/
Inflected Forms
cynosures (plural)
Cynosura (alternative)