Altair

noun

Al·​tair al-ˈtī(-ə)r How to pronounce Altair (audio)
-ˈter,
ˈal-ˌtī(-ə)r,
-ˌter
: the brightest star in the constellation Aquila

Examples of Altair in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Siemens chief executive cited the firm’s roughly $10 billion acquisition of U.S. engineering software firm Altair, saying the company has recently been expanding its U.S. footprint. Sam Meredith, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025 There was the Summer Triangle: Vega, with its disk of dust; the fast-rotating Altair; and Deneb, believed to be more than 2000 light years away. Lane Sainty, USA TODAY, 24 Nov. 2024 Nadella began by comparing the moment to the founding of the company, when Bill Gates and Paul Allen rushed to be the first to write a Basic interpreter for the first PC, the Altair. Steven Levy, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024 The original data was derived from the Altair International Corp quarterly 10-Q report dated November 14, 2024. Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024 Despite its massive size of roughly 1.6 to 2 times the width of our sun, Altair is known for spinning rapidly. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Sep. 2024 Further Reading First encounter: COMPUTE! magazine and its glorious, tedious type-in code In 1975, Paul Allen and Bill Gates adapted the language for personal computers like the Altair 8800, expanding its reach to a new audience of small computer owners and founding Microsoft in the process. Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 1 May 2024 The company was originally created to produce software for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer. Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 4 Apr. 2024 The winner of the Student Support Personnel category was Altair Trujillo Estrada, who works at H.R. McCall Elementary School in District 60. Chloe Hilles, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, shortened from Arabic al-nasr al-ṭāʼir "the flying eagle," a name for the line of stars Alpha, Beta and Gamma Aquilae

Note: According to Paul Kunitzsch, Arabische Sternnamen in Europa (Wiesbaden, 1959), the Arabic name (with many variants) was applied to the single star Alpha Aquilae for convenience in astrolabe manuals. In Arabic star nomenclature, al-nasr al-ṭāʼir, "the flying eagle" in Aquila was opposed to al-nasr al-wāqiʻ, "the falling eagle," applied to the three stars Alpha, Epsilon and Zeta Lyrae.

First Known Use

1730, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Altair was in 1730

Dictionary Entries Near Altair

Cite this Entry

“Altair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Altair. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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