Astarte
Americannoun
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an ancient Semitic deity, goddess of fertility and reproduction worshiped by the Phoenicians and Canaanites.
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Also called chestnut clam. Also called chestnut shell. (lowercase) any of several marine bivalve mollusks of the genus Astarte, having a somewhat triangular, chestnut-brown shell.
noun
Etymology
Origin of Astarte
First recorded in 1590–1600 Astarte for def. 1; from Latin Astartē, from Greek Astártē, from Hebrew ʿashtōreth, from Phoenician ʿashtart; Ashtoreth ( def. ), Aphrodite
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These include the veneration of El, the head of the pantheon and often associated with Yahweh, and of Yahweh’s consort Asherah, the storm god Baal, the fertility goddess Astarte, and many others.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
Bik spent so much of her spare time on duplicated images that last year she decided to leave her job as director of science at Astarte Medical in Foster City, California.
From Nature • May 12, 2020
There was a polished statuette of Astarte, the pagan goddess of fertility, whose memory died hard among the Christian farmers of Northern Syria.
From Time Magazine Archive
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In his new Astarte, Choreographer-Director Robert Joffrey offers 30 minutes of disturbing, iconoclastic exhilaration.
From Time Magazine Archive
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The same is placed between two cypresses under the portico of the temple of Astarte, in a medal of Ælia Capitolina; but in this instance the cone is crowned.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.