stella praeceps

Latin noun

Last edited: 2024-07-29
Primary meaning shooting star
Literal translation headlong star
Variants
stella praeceps
praeceps stella
Edited by
shooting star astronomical phenomenon

et tenuem longis iaculantur tractibus ignem praecipites stellae passimque volare videntur

‘There are also shooting stars, which hurl long trails of slender fire and are seen flying everywhere’

— Manilius, Astronomica 1.849+847

Genre: astrological treatise

Manilius. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977. 72-73

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). stella praeceps (Lemma #2241). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2241/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). stella praeceps (Lemma #2241). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2241/
MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). stella praeceps (Lemma #2241). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2241/
Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2024) stella praeceps (Lemma #2241), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2241/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac2241,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2024},
	title = {stella praeceps ({Lemma} #2241)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2241/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2241/},
}