Muphrid

The IAU catalogue's account

The formation of this name begins with the ancient Arabic name for α Boo: al-simak al-ramih, "the Lance-bearing simak" (the meaning of simak is uncertain). It seems that later Arabic poets expanded upon this name by making mention of some separate "lance" (al-rumh) that accompanied the star α Boo. Subsequent Arabs attempted to identify this fictitious lance with actual stars, sometimes saying it was η Boo with nearby stars, sometimes saying it was "η Boo alone" (where "alone", in arabic, is written mufradan). From these discussions came, with a slight copying mistake in the Arabic, the erroneous Arabic name mufrad al-ramih, roughly translating as "the Isolated Single One of the Lance-Bearer". With a wrong vocalization and with abbreviation, this erroneous name, as "Muphrid", was applied in recent times.

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.