Vindemiatrix

The IAU catalogue's account

The formation of this name begins with the classical Greek name for this star: Protrygeter ("the Grape Gatherer") as it is given in the Almagest: ὁ βόρειος αὐτῶv καὶ καλούμενος Προτρυγητήρ. The Romans translated this name as vindemiator and other similiar masculine forms. Similarly, after a somewhat erroneous translation of the Greek name by the Arabs, the Medieval Latin translation in the Almagest was precedens vindemiatorem, "the One preceding the Grape Gatherer", modified in some editions of the Alphonsine Tables into precedens vindemitorem. The exact origin of the current, feminine "Vindemiatrix" from any of these forms is uncertain, but it first appeared in Early Modern times.

Source language

Latin

Reference

Almagest (Heiberg edition, II 102). 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.