Make Your Point > Archived Issues > STELLIFY
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You probably know plenty of words from the Latin stella, meaning "star," like star itself, stellar, constellation, and interstellar, as well as the names Stella and Estella.
The rare and lovely word "stellify" first appeared in English in 1384 in Geoffrey Chaucer's poem "The House of Fame." Chaucer apparently borrowed it from French, and it traces back further to the Latin stella, meaning "star."
Part of speech:
Although "stellify" is a very rare word, it's pretty easy to understand. Its tone is quirky and academic.
"For a while now, Bakar has seemed on the cusp, ready to stellify... The north London singer attracts a rabidly devoted young following."
Explain the meaning of "stellify" without saying "make into a celebrity" or "add to a 'constellation' of famous people or things."
In 1986, in a book review for the New York Times, John Gross wrote:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1.
The opposite of STELLIFYING someone would be
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