Make Your Point: STELLIFY

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pronounce STELLIFY:

STELL uh fy

connect this word to others:

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.

Let's add stellify to that list!

Like it sounds, it means "to turn into a star," and it's a loftier, rarer, more beautiful synonym of honor, glorify, idolize, immortalize, l___ize ("to treat like an adored celebrity"), ex___ ("to lift up to a higher level of respect"), and apo___size ("to treat like a god").

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

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."

In the poem, the speaker flies on the back of an eagle to the temple of Fame, wondering if he'll be "stellified," or turned into a star or a constellation. (Literally or figuratively? Probably both.)

With thanks to Chaucer, then, when you want a tidy little word that means "to make someone into a star, or put someone into a cluster of stars, figuratively, by making them famous," you can use "stellify."

"Stellify" can also be literal, meaning "to transform someone into a star or constellation," as in "In myths, characters like Perseus and Hercules are stellified."

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb, usually the transitive kind: "They promised to stellify her;" "American history books tend to stellify the presidents."

Some writers have used it intransitively, as in "She's about to stellify."

Other forms:

Stellified, stellifying; stellification.

how to use it:

Although "stellify" is a very rare word, it's pretty easy to understand. Its tone is quirky and academic.

To use it, talk about the people, actions, and creations that stellify people: "Technophiles stellified Steve Jobs in the late 90s." "It was the act of bringing Apple from bankruptcy to prosperity that stellified Steve Jobs." "Products like iPods and iPhones stellified Steve Jobs."

examples:

"For a while now, Bakar has seemed on the cusp, ready to stellify... The north London singer attracts a rabidly devoted young following."
— Damien Morris, The Guardian, 1 October 2023

"The song is engulfed in an instant in blackness...
The singer
Must then pass out of sight, not even relieved
Of the evil burthen of the words. Stellification
Is for the few, and comes about much later."
— John Ashbery, "Syringa," 1977

has this page helped you understand "stellify"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "stellify" without saying "make into a celebrity" or "add to a 'constellation' of famous people or things."

try it out:

In 1986, in a book review for the New York Times, John Gross wrote:

"Contemporary fame is even more fickle than fame has traditionally been. You can be stellified one moment, and destellified the next."

Does his point still stand today, in your opinion? Could you think of any examples of people who have been stellefied and immediately destellified?

before you review, play:

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.

Our game for this month is "Stop, Drop, & Anagram!"

I’ll give you an 8-letter word, along with a quote with a blank in it. Your job is to drop a letter from the word, then reassemble it into the 7-letter word that fits meaningfully into the blank. You'll find the answer at the bottom of the issue. Enjoy!

Try this one today:

APPLYING.

"We went outside into the cordial afternoon sunshine. The _______ fields were optimistically green and empty before us."
— John Knowles, A Separate Peace, 1959

review this word:

1. The opposite of STELLIFYING someone would be

A. MOLLIFYING them, or easing their bruised ego.
B. HUMBLING them, or hurling them into obscurity.
C. FORTIFYING them, or giving them strength.

2. According to Walter W. Skeat, four characters from ancient myth were all "stellified, and four _____ bear their names even to the present day."

A. cities
B. mountains
C. constellations

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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