How to use an asterisk in writing
In formal writing the asterisk has three main jobs: pointing to a footnote, hiding letters, and, in linguistics, marking a form as ungrammatical or reconstructed. It isn't a substitute for bold or italics in edited text.
Footnotes and conditions
The most common job. Put the asterisk directly after the word or punctuation it refers to, and start the note with the same asterisk. The footnote guide covers placement in detail.
Omitted letters
Asterisks can replace letters you choose not to print, whether to soften a swear word or to anonymise a name ("Mr. S****"). Use one asterisk per missing letter if the length matters. Otherwise a fixed number such as three is fine.
In linguistics: ungrammatical sentences
Linguists put an asterisk before a sentence that native speakers wouldn't accept:
*Her went to the shop.
A question mark (?) marks a sentence that's doubtful rather than clearly wrong.
In historical linguistics: reconstructed words
An asterisk also marks a word that was never written down but has been reconstructed by comparing later languages. For example, *ph₂tḗr is the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European source of "father", "pater" and "Vater". The asterisk says "this is a scholarly reconstruction, not an attested word."
Emphasis in plain text
In email and plain text, writers sometimes wrap a word in asterisks to stress it, as in "I *did* send it". It reads naturally in informal writing. In edited text, use italics instead.
Spacing and plural
- No space between the asterisk and the word it's attached to.
- The plural is asterisks, and it's pronounced AS-tuh-risks.