Mesarthim

The IAU catalogue's account

The formation of this name begins with the Arabic lunar mansion name al-sharatan, for β and γ Ari. From the numerous medieval lists of the Arabic lunar mansions (all in Latin transliteration), the Early Modern scholar Johannes Bayer grasped the form Sartai, and used it for the three brighter stars α, β and γ Ari. Bayer also erroneously explained Sartai as from the Hebrew word mesharethim, "servants", rather than from al-sharatan. Subsequently, Bayer's erroneous word, written as "Mesarthim", was applied as a star name.

Source language

Arabic

Reference

Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub.

Source: IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN), Working Group on Star Names. The account is the IAU's own text and is quoted in full: it is published under CC BY.