Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The double star in the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper, in the constellation Ursa Major, approximately 78 light years from Earth.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun astronomy A binary star in the constellation Ursa Major; Zeta (ζ) Ursae Majoris.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, from Arabic mi’zar, covering, apron (used as the name of the star Beta Andromeda, representing part of Andromeda's apron or girdle, but later applied to the star Mizar by Joseph Justus Scaliger, by confusion with an earlier name of Mizar, Mirak), from ’azara, to surround; see ℵzr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Arabic ميزر (mīzar), meaning a "waistband" or "girdle".

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Examples

  • Mizar is itself a double star, but you need either a high - powered pair of binoculars on a tripod or a telescope at low power to split the components.

    SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles - Part 5889 2009

  • One of them is especially remarkable: [zeta], known as Mizar to the Arabs.

    Astronomy for Amateurs Camille Flammarion 1883

  • It is known as Mizar, and is the middle star (z) of the three which form the tail.

    The Story of the Heavens 1876

  • One of them, moreover, Zeta Ursæ, alias Mizar, carries with it three other stars -- Alcor, the Arab "Rider" of the horse, visible to the naked eye, besides a telescopic and a spectroscopic attendant.

    A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition 1874

  • The middle star in the Big Dipper's handle is called Mizar, and if you look very carefully at it with just your naked eyes, you'll see that it has company.

    Postbulletin.com Local News 2010

  • The wise men of our race call the Big Star "Mizar" one of the chariot horses, and the little star

    Woodland Tales Ernest Thompson Seton 1903

  • In the close neighbourhood of Mizar is the small star Alcor, which can be readily seen with the unaided eye; but when we speak of Mizar as a double star, it is not to be understood that Alcor is one of the components of the double.

    The Story of the Heavens 1876

  • Mizar and Alcor are ‘naked eye’ doubles, meaning you can see them without telescopic aid.

    SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles - Part 5889 2009

  • In 1973 an engineer, trying to make good on Ford's promise, tested the Mizar, a vehicle that was half Cessna, half Pinto (yes, Ford's notorious disco-era clunker).

    Flying Car Dreams Take Off--Again 2010

  • In 1973 an engineer, trying to make good on Ford's promise, tested the Mizar, a vehicle that was half Cessna, half Pinto (yes, Ford's notorious disco-era clunker).

    Flying Car Dreams Take Off--Again Paul Milo 2010

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