lodestar
noun
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If you’re looking for inspiration, lodestar may represent the mother lode. The literal, albeit archaic, meaning of lodestar is “a star that leads or guides”; it is a term that has been used especially in reference to the North Star, a star in the Ursa Minor, or Little Dipper, constellation. The lode in both lodestar and mother lode comes from the Middle English word for “course” (lode is still used in some parts of England to mean “waterway”). Both the starry sense of lodestar and the more earthly “something or someone that leads or guides a person or group of people” meaning date back to the 14th century, the time of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who used both in his work. The literal sense had mostly fallen out of use by the early 17th century, but the figurative use shines on.
Examples of lodestar in a Sentence
Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 12 June 2024
The pool-hall fight scene in Martin Scorsese’s third feature, Mean Streets, is the lodestar of his entire cinematic language.
—Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
With seven smart bars and restaurants, including Tak Oslo, a Nordic-Japanese spot and the city’s only rooftop restaurant, the hotel has become a lodestar for the city’s cool crowd.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2023
The sort of go-for-baroque moviemaking that once characterized the European nation as a lodestar of auteurism?
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lodestar 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lodestar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Lodestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lodestar. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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