Named star

Zosma

HIP
54872
Designation
68 Del Leo
Bayer designation
δ Leo
Visual magnitude
2.56
Constellation
Lion
Name approved by the IAU
2016-07-20

The IAU catalogue's account

From the Greek word ζῶσμα, "girdle" or "loin cloth". In Early Modern times this word was erroneously said to have been used to describe δ Leo in a medieval Greek text. Correctly, the text has ὀσφῦς, "hip" or "lower back" (after Ptolemy). The name "Zosma" (transliterated from the erroneous Greek word) was applied in recent times.

Source language
Greek
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.

From Kunitzsch & Smart

Layer of tradition
Ancient Greek
Ancient-layer signal
no simple cue found
Pronounced
zos' mu
Literal meanings
girdle, or loin cloth; hip, or lower back
Periods of use
Medieval, Renaissance, Recent / modern
Transmission notes
error/corruption, transliteration

Source: Kunitzsch & Smart, A Dictionary of Modern Star Names, 2nd ed. 2006, p. 41

Layer of tradition and ancient-layer signal are not the dictionary authors' judgement but a keyword reading of the entry's wording. “No simple cue found” means exactly that — the parser found none — not that the name is late.

The fields on this card were read off an OCR layer and are not checked against the printed page. The page number is given so the claim can be verified in your own copy.

This star is not part of any chain in the strict sub-corpus.

Other named stars of this constellation: