ZUBENELGENUBI

Interesting word. It's from Arabic, as are many astronomical terms. There are two other stars in Libra that begin with zuben (< Arabic al-zuban 'the claw').
  • alpha Librae, Zubenelgenubi 'southern claw' (< al-zuban al-janubiyy)
  • beta Librae, Zubeneschamali 'northern claw' (< al-zuban al-shamaliyyah)
  • gamma Librae, Zubenelakrab 'scorpion's claw' (< al-zuban al-aqrab)


[Addendum: Arabic janub 'south' < janaba 'to turn aside' is cognate with Hebrew ganebh 'to steal' and Yiddish ganef 'thief' (link)]

Last edited by zmjezhd; 03/21/09 02:22 PM.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.