Muphrid
Authors: IAU-WGSN Etymology Group, Susanne M Hoffmann, Roland Laffitte
Muphrid ( المفرد) is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Arabic. It is the name of HIP 67927 (η Boo, HR 5235) in constellation Bootes.
Etymology and History
Ideler (1809)[1] writes that he doesn't understand why the star is named as such. He states that the term is translated "isolated" but that it is unclear whether the isolation refers to a location separate from the Bootes figure or something else ("Mufrid heißt abgesondert, isolirt. Was es in dieser Zusammensetzung sagen soll, ist mir nicht ganz klar.").
Kunitzsch and Smart (2006):[2]
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.
Roland Laffitte (2025)[3] writes:
Muphrid (η Boo: 2.68) / المفرد . Borrowed two centuries ago and now adopted by the IAU, this name corresponds to the late Arabic phrase Mufrad al-Rāmiḥ, ‘the isolated [star] of Alramech’, which is explained by its position near the main star of the constellation (see supra, Fig. 53b). Arabic: Mufrad al-Rāmiḥ, Uluġ Bēg, ‘Muphrid AlRâmih’, Hyde > Miphrid, Bode and Piazzi > French: Moufride, Coulier, Muphrid, Francœur. Muphrid & var., Allen, Rumrill, Hoffleit, but Muphrid alone, Rhoads, etc., Simbad, IAU.
| Name
(orig.) |
Name | translation | identification
(RL) |
author | note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| al-Rumḥ | la Lance | η Boo | Ṣūfī | ||
| Mirzam al-Simāk | the Predecessor of Simak | Marzūqī | |||
| Mufrad al-Rāmiḥ | The Isolated One of Alramech | Tīzīnī | |||
| Rāyat al-Simāk | the Standard of Simak | ε Boo | Qutayba | ||
| Tābiᶜ al-Simāk | the Follower of Simak | Ṣūfī | |||
| al-ᶜAḍaba | the Belt | ρσ Boo | Ṣūfī | ||
| al-Silāḥ | the Arms | τυ Boo | Ṣūfī |
Mythology
IAU Working Group on Star Names
The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2016/09/12.
Weblinks
- Website of the IAU WGSN: https://exopla.net/
Reference
- ↑ Ludwig Ideler (1809). "Untersuchungen Über Den Ursprung Und Die Bedeutung Der Sternnamen: Ein Beytrag Zur Geschichte Des Gerstirnten Himmels", reprint: Legare Street Press
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Roland Laffitte (2025), Nommer les étoile: 500 noms hérités des Arabes - Apport de l'uranographie arabe, Orient des Mots
