Editing Betelgeuse (section)

== Ethnological attributes ==

=== Spelling and pronunciation ===
Betelgeuse has also been spelled ''Betelgeux''<ref name="OED">{{Cite encyclopedia
 | title=Betelgeuse
 | encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary
 |editor1=Simpson, J. |editor2=Weiner, E. | year=1989
 | edition= 2nd
 | page=130
 | location=Oxford
 | publisher=Clarendon Press
 | isbn= 978-0-19-861186-8}}</ref> and, in [[German language|German]], ''Beteigeuze''{{efn|Likely the result of mistaking the '''l''' for an '''i'''. Ultimately, this led to the modern "Betelgeuse".}} (according to [[Johann Elert Bode|Bode]]).<ref>[[Johann Elert Bode|Bode, Johann Elert]], (ed.). (1782) ''Vorstellung der Gestirne: auf XXXIV Kupfertafeln nach der Parisier Ausgabe des Flamsteadschen Himmelsatlas'', Gottlieb August Lange, Berlin / [[Stralsund]], pl. XXIV.</ref><ref>[[Johann Elert Bode|Bode, Johann Elert]], (ed.) (1801). ''Uranographia: sive Astrorum Descriptio'', Fridericus de Harn, Berlin, pl. XII.</ref> ''Betelgeux'' and ''Betelgeuze'' were used until the early 20th century, when the spelling ''Betelgeuse'' became universal.<ref name="schaaf">{{cite book
 |author=Schaaf, Fred
 |year=2008
 |title=The Brightest Stars
 |url=https://archive.org/details/brighteststarsdi00scha
 |url-access=limited
 |chapter=Betelgeuse
 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/brighteststarsdi00scha/page/n182 174]–82
 |publisher=Wiley
 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey
 |isbn=978-0-471-70410-2}}</ref><!-- cites previous two sentences -->
Consensus on its pronunciation is weak and is as varied as its spellings:
* {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɛ|t|əl|dʒ|uː|z}} {{respell|BET|əl-jooz}}{{snd}}[[Oxford English Dictionary]]<ref name="OED" /> and [[Royal Astronomical Society of Canada]]
* {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|iː|t|əl|dʒ|uː|z|,_|-|dʒ|ɜː|z}} {{respell|BEE|təl|jooz|,_-|jurz}}{{snd}}[[Oxford English Dictionary]]<ref name="OED" />
* {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|iː|t|əl|dʒ|uː|s}} {{respell|BEE|təl|jooss}}{{snd}}[[Canadian Oxford Dictionary]] and ''Webster's Collegiate Dictionary''<ref name="MWD" /><!-- Schaaf says all 3 pronunciations used -->

=== Etymology ===
[[File:Al-Sufi's Orion, 1125 Baghdad copy, Doha Museum of Islamic Art Ms 2. 1998. SO.jpg|thumb|An illustration of Orion (horizontally reversed) in [[Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi|al-Sufi]]'s ''[[Book of Fixed Stars]]''. Betelgeuze is annotated as ''Yad al-Jauzā'' ("Hand of Orion"), one of the proposed etymological origins of its modern name, and also as ''Mankib al Jauzā''' ("Shoulder of Orion").]]

Betelgeuse is often mistranslated as "armpit of the central one".<ref>{{cite book | first=Ian | last=Ridpath | year=2006 | author-link=Ian Ridpath | page=8 | title=The Monthly Sky Guide | edition=7th | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-68435-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3JhtnAX-PwC&pg=PA8 }}</ref> In his 1899 work ''[[Star Names|Star-Names and Their Meanings]]'', American amateur naturalist Richard Hinckley Allen stated the derivation was from the {{nowrap|{{lang|ar|ابط الجوزاء}}}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Ibṭ al-Jauzah}}'', which he claimed degenerated into a number of forms, including ''Bed Elgueze'', ''Beit Algueze'', ''Bet El-gueze'', and ''Beteigeuze'', to the forms ''Betelgeuse'', ''Betelguese'', ''Betelgueze'' and ''Betelgeux''. The star was named ''Beldengeuze'' in the ''[[Alfonsine tables|Alfonsine Tables]]'',<ref name="Kunitzsch86">{{cite journal|last=Kunitzsch|first=Paul|year=1986|title=The Star Catalogue Commonly Appended to the Alfonsine Tables|journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy|volume=17|issue=49|pages=89–98|bibcode = 1986JHA....17...89K |doi=10.1177/002182868601700202|s2cid=118597258}}</ref> and Italian [[Jesuit]] priest and astronomer [[Giovanni Battista Riccioli]] had called it ''Bectelgeuze'' or ''Bedalgeuze''.<ref name="allen">{{cite book | author-link=Richard Hinckley Allen | author=Allen, Richard Hinckley | year=1963 | orig-year=1899 | title=Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning | edition=[[Reprint|rep]]. | publisher=[[Dover Publications]] Inc. | location=New York, [[New York (state)|NY]] | url=https://archive.org/details/starnamestheirlo00alle/page/310 | isbn=((978-0-486-21079-7)) | pages=[https://archive.org/details/starnamestheirlo00alle/page/310 310–12] }}</ref>

Paul Kunitzsch, Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Munich, refuted Allen's derivation and instead proposed that the full name is a corruption of the Arabic {{lang|ar|يد الجوزاء}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Yad al-Jauzā'}}'', meaning "the Hand of ''al-Jauzā<nowiki>'"</nowiki>''; ''i.e.'', Orion.<ref name="KUNITZSCH1959">{{cite book |author=Kunitzsch, Paul |year=1959 |title=Arabische Sternnamen in Europa |publisher=[[Otto Harrassowitz]] |location=Wiesbaden |bibcode=1959ase..book.....K }}</ref> European mistransliteration into [[medieval Latin]] led to the first character ''y'' ('''ﻴ''', with two dots underneath) being misread as a ''b'' ('''ﺒ''', with only one dot underneath). During the [[Renaissance]], the star's name was written as {{lang|ar|بيت الجوزاء}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Bait al-Jauzā'}}'' ("house of Orion") or {{lang|ar|بط الجوزاء}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Baţ al-Jauzā'}}'', incorrectly thought to mean "armpit of Orion" (a true translation of "armpit" would be {{lang|ar|ابط}}, transliterated as ''{{transliteration|ar|Ibţ}})''. This led to the modern rendering as ''Betelgeuse''.<ref name="Kunitzsch">{{cite book |last1=Kunitzsch|first1=Paul |last2=Smart|first2= Tim |year = 2006 |title = A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations |edition = 2nd rev. |publisher = [[Sky Publishing Corporation]] |location = [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], [[Massachusetts|MA]] |isbn = 978-1-931559-44-7 |page = 45}}</ref> Other writers have since accepted Kunitzsch's explanation.<ref name="100greatest"/>

The last part of the name, "-elgeuse", comes from the Arabic {{lang|ar|الجوزاء}} ''{{transliteration|ar|al-Jauzā'}}'', a historical Arabic name of the constellation [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]], a feminine name in old [[Arabian legend]], and of uncertain meaning. Because {{lang|ar|جوز}} ''{{transliteration|ar|j-w-z}}'', the [[Root (linguistics)|root]] of ''{{transliteration|ar|jauzā'}}'', means "middle", ''{{transliteration|ar|al-Jauzā'}}'' roughly means "the Central One". The modern Arabic name for Orion is {{lang|ar|الجبار}} ''{{transliteration|ar|al-Jabbār}}'' ("the Giant"), although the use of {{lang|ar|الجوزاء}} ''{{transliteration|ar|al-Jauzā'}}'' in the star's name has continued.<ref name="Kunitzsch" /> The 17th-century English translator [[Edmund Chilmead]] gave it the name ''Ied Algeuze'' ("Orion's Hand"), from [[Jakob Christmann|Christmannus]].<ref name="allen" /> Other Arabic names recorded include {{lang|ar| اليد اليمنى}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Al Yad al Yamnā}}'' ("the Right Hand"), {{lang|ar|الذراع}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Al Dhira}}'' ("the Arm"), and {{lang|ar|المنكب}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Al Mankib}}'' ("the Shoulder"), all of al-Jauzā, Orion,<ref name="allen" /> as {{lang|ar|منكب الجوزاء}} ''{{transliteration|ar|Mankib al Jauzā'}}''.
[[File:Dunhuang Star Atlas - Orion.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dunhuang Star Chart]], ''circa'' AD 700, showing {{lang|zh|參宿四}} {{lang|zh-Latn|Shēnxiùsì}} (Betelgeuse), the Fourth Star of the constellation of Three Stars]]

=== Other names ===
Other names for Betelgeuse included the Persian ''{{lang|fa-Latn|Bašn}}'' "the Arm", and [[Coptic language|Coptic]] ''{{lang|cop-Latn|Klaria}}'' "an Armlet".<ref name="allen" /> ''{{lang|sa-Latn|Bahu}}'' was its [[Sanskrit]] name, as part of a Hindu understanding of the constellation as a running antelope or stag.<ref name="allen" /> In traditional [[Chinese astronomy]], the [[Chinese star names|name]] for Betelgeuse is {{lang|zh|参宿四}} (''{{lang|zh-Latn|Shēnxiùsì}}, the Fourth Star of the constellation of [[Three Stars (Chinese constellation)|Three Stars]]'')<ref name="sb2">{{Cite web |url=http://aeea.nmns.edu.tw/2006/0605/ap060525.html |publisher=AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) |title=天文教育資訊網 2006 年 5 月 25 日 |trans-title=Astronomy Education Information Network 25 May 2006 |website=aeea.nmns.edu.tw |date=25 May 2006 |access-date=26 June 2012 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716122642/http://aeea.nmns.edu.tw/2006/0605/ap060525.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> as the [[Orion in Chinese astronomy|Chinese constellation]] {{lang|zh|参宿}} originally referred to the three stars in [[Orion's Belt]]. This constellation was ultimately expanded to ten stars, but the earlier name stuck.<ref name="ridpath">{{cite web |url = http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/orion2.html#chinese |last = Ridpath |first = Ian |title = Orion: Chinese associations |access-date =24 June 2012 |work = Star Tales}}</ref> In Japan, the [[Heike clan|Taira, or Heike, clan]] adopted Betelgeuse and its red color as its symbol, calling the star ''Heike-boshi'', ({{lang|ja|平家星}}), while the [[Minamoto clan|Minamoto, or Genji, clan]] chose Rigel and its white color. The two powerful families fought a [[Genpei War|legendary war]] in Japanese history, the stars seen as facing each other off and only kept apart by the Belt.<ref name="RENSHAW1">{{cite web
 |title=''Yowatashi Boshi''; Stars that Pass in the Night
 |author1=Steve Renshaw
 |author2=Saori Ihara
 |name-list-style=amp
 |url=http://www.renshaworks.com/jastro/orion.htm
 |access-date=25 June 2012
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604221737/http://www.renshaworks.com/jastro/orion.htm
 |archive-date=2016-06-04
 |url-status=usurped
}} Other Versions: {{cite magazine
 |title=''Yowatashi Boshi''; Stars that Pass in the Night
 |magazine=Griffith Observer
 |date=October 1999 | volume=63|issue=10|pages=2–17
}} and {{cite magazine
 |title=''Yowatashi Boshi''; Stars that Pass in the Night
 |magazine=The Kyoto Journal |issue=48 |date=July 2000
}}</ref><ref>[[Hōei Nojiri]]"Shin seiza jyunrei"p.19 {{ISBN|978-4-12-204128-8}}</ref>

In Tahitian lore, Betelgeuse was one of the pillars propping up the sky, known as ''Anâ-varu'', the pillar to sit by. It was also called ''Ta'urua-nui-o-Mere'' "Great festivity in parental yearnings".<ref name="henry1907">{{cite journal|last=Henry|first=Teuira |author-link=Teuira Henry |year=1907|title=Tahitian Astronomy: Birth of Heavenly Bodies|journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=16|issue=2|pages=101–04|jstor=20700813}}</ref> A Hawaiian term for it was ''Kaulua-koko'' ("brilliant red star").<ref name="brosch">{{Cite book | last=Brosch | first=Noah | title=Sirius Matters | year=2008 | publisher=Springer | isbn=978-1-4020-8318-1 | page= 46 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ricStR4SE-UC&pg=PA46}}</ref> The [[Lacandon people]] of Central America knew it as ''chäk tulix'' ("red butterfly").<ref>{{cite book|last=Milbrath|first=Susan|title=Star Gods of the Maya: Astronomy in Art, Folklore, and Calendars|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin, Texas|year=1999|page=39|isbn=978-0-292-75226-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZN6AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

Astronomy writer [[Robert Burnham Jr.]] proposed the term ''padparadaschah'', which denotes a rare orange sapphire in India, for the star.<ref name="schaaf" />

=== Mythology ===
With the [[history of astronomy]] intimately associated with mythology and astrology before the [[scientific revolution]], the red star, like the planet Mars that derives its name from a [[Mars (mythology)|Roman war god]], has been closely associated with the martial [[archetype]] of conquest for millennia, and by extension, the motif of death and rebirth.<ref name="allen" /> Other cultures have produced different myths. Stephen R. Wilk has proposed the constellation of Orion could have represented the Greek mythological figure [[Pelops]], who had an artificial shoulder of ivory made for him, with Betelgeuse as the shoulder, its color reminiscent of the reddish yellow sheen of ivory.<ref name="wilk99" />

[[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginal]] people from the [[Great Victoria Desert]] of South Australia incorporated Betelgeuse into their oral traditions as the club of Nyeeruna (Orion), which fills with fire-magic and dissipates before returning. This has been interpreted as showing that early Aboriginal observers were aware of the brightness variations of Betelgeuse.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hamacher|first1=D.W.|title=Observations of red–giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians|journal=The Australian Journal of Anthropology|volume=29|pages=89–107|doi=10.1111/taja.12257|arxiv=1709.04634|bibcode=2018AuJAn..29...89H|year=2018|s2cid=119453488}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Leaman|first1=T.|last2=Hamacher|first2=D.W.|title=Aboriginal Astronomical traditions from Ooldea, South Australia, Part 1: Nyeeruna and the Orion Story|journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage|date=2014|volume=17|issue=2|pages=180–194|doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2014.02.05 |arxiv=1403.7849|bibcode=2014JAHH...17..180L|s2cid=53477850 }}</ref> The [[Wardaman people]] of northern Australia knew the star as ''Ya-jungin'' ("Owl Eyes Flicking"), its variable light signifying its intermittent watching of ceremonies led by the Red Kangaroo Leader Rigel.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harney |first1=Bill Yidumduma |last2=Cairns |first2=Hugh C. |title=Dark Sparklers |publisher=Hugh C. Cairns |location=Merimbula, New South Wales |pages=139–40 |year=2004 |orig-year=2003 |edition=Revised |isbn=978-0-9750908-0-0}}</ref> In South African mythology, Betelgeuse was perceived as a lion casting a predatory gaze toward the three zebras represented by Orion's Belt.<ref>{{cite book|first=C. Scott |last=Littleton |year=2005 |page=1056 |title=Gods, goddesses, and mythology | volume=1 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7559-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HC93q4gsOAwC&pg=PA1056 }}</ref>

In the Americas, Betelgeuse signifies a severed limb of a man-figure (Orion)—the [[Pemon people|Taulipang]] of Brazil know the constellation as Zililkawai, a hero whose leg was cut off by his wife, with the variable light of Betelgeuse linked to the severing of the limb. Similarly, the [[Lakota people]] of North America see it as a chief whose arm has been severed.<ref name="wilk99">{{cite journal|last=Wilk|first=Stephen R.|year=1999|title=Further Mythological Evidence for Ancient Knowledge of Variable Stars|journal= The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers|volume=27|issue=2|pages=171–74|bibcode=1999JAVSO..27..171W}}</ref>

A Sanskrit name for Betelgeuse is ārdrā ("the moist one"), eponymous of the [[Ardra Nakshatra|Ardra]] [[nakshatra|lunar mansion]] in [[Hindu astrology]].<ref name="motz">{{cite book|last=Motz|first=Lloyd|author2=Nathanson, Carol|title=The Constellations: An Enthusiast's Guide to the Night Sky|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London, United Kingdom|year=1991|page=85|isbn=978-1-85410-088-7}}</ref> The [[Rigvedic deities|Rigvedic God]] of storms [[Rudra]] presided over the star; this association was linked by 19th-century star enthusiast [[Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning|Richard Hinckley Allen]] to Orion's stormy nature.<ref name="allen" /> The constellations in Macedonian folklore represented agricultural items and animals, reflecting their way of life. To them, Betelgeuse was ''Orach'' ("the ploughman"), alongside the rest of Orion, which depicted a plough with oxen. The rising of Betelgeuse at around 3&nbsp;a.m. in late summer and autumn signified the time for village men to go to the fields and plough.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Macedonian Folk Constellations |author=Cenev, Gjore |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade|volume= 85|pages=97–109|bibcode=2008POBeo..85...97C|year=2008}}</ref> To the [[Inuit astronomy|Inuit]], the appearance of Betelgeuse and [[Bellatrix]] high in the southern sky after sunset marked the beginning of spring and lengthening days in late February and early March. The two stars were known as ''Akuttujuuk'' ("those [two] placed far apart"), referring to the distance between them, mainly to people from North Baffin Island and Melville Peninsula.<ref name=inuit/>

The opposed locations of Orion and [[Scorpius]], with their corresponding bright red variable stars Betelgeuse and [[Antares]], were noted by ancient cultures around the world. The setting of Orion and rising of Scorpius signify the death of Orion by the scorpion. In China they signify brothers and rivals Shen and Shang.<ref name="wilk99" /> The [[Batak (Indonesia)|Batak]] of Sumatra marked their New Year with the first [[new moon]] after the sinking of Orion's Belt below the horizon, at which point Betelgeuse remained "like the tail of a rooster". The positions of Betelgeuse and Antares at opposite ends of the celestial sky were considered significant, and their constellations were seen as a pair of scorpions. Scorpion days marked as nights that both constellations could be seen.<ref name="kelley11">{{cite book|author1=Kelley, David H. |author2=Milone, Eugene F. |author3=Aveni, A.F. |title=Exploring Ancient Skies: A Survey of Ancient and Cultural Astronomy|publisher=Springer|location=New York, New York|year=2011|page=307|isbn=978-1-4419-7623-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILBuYcGASxcC&pg=PA307}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
As one of the brightest and best-known stars, Betelgeuse has featured in many works of fiction. The star's unusual name inspired the title of the 1988 film ''[[Beetlejuice]]'', referring to its titular antagonist, and script writer [[Michael McDowell (author)|Michael McDowell]] was impressed by how many people made the connection.<ref name="schaaf" /><!-- ref cites two previous sentences --> In the popular science fiction series ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' by [[Douglas Adams]], [[Ford Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect]] was from "a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse."<ref name="conley">{{cite book
 |title=Magic Words: A Dictionary
 |author=Conley, Craig
 |year=2008
 |page=121
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SB60Wavy6MC&pg=PA121
 |access-date=22 September 2010
 |isbn=978-1-57863-434-7
 |publisher=Weiser}}</ref>

Two American navy ships were named after the star, both of them World War II vessels, the {{USS|Betelgeuse|AKA-11}} launched in 1939 and {{USS|Betelgeuse|AK-260}} launched in 1944. In 1979, the French supertanker ''[[Whiddy Island disaster|Betelgeuse]]'' was moored off [[Whiddy Island]], discharging oil when it exploded, killing 50 people in one of the worst disasters in Ireland's history.<ref>{{cite news
 | first=Nicolla | last=Tallant | date=15 July 2007
 | work=Independent Digital
 | publisher=Independent News & Media PLC
 | title=Survivor recalls the night an apocalypse came to Whiddy
 | url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/survivor-recalls-the-night-an-apocalypse-came-to-whiddy-1037842.html
 | access-date=10 June 2011}}</ref>

The [[Dave Matthews Band]] song "[[Black and Blue Bird (song)|Black and Blue Bird]]" references the star.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dmbalmanac.com/Lyrics.aspx?iid=55845&sid=2828 |title=Black and Blue Bird |website=Dmbalmanac.com |date=5 July 2015 |access-date=30 January 2016}}</ref> The [[Blur (band)|Blur]] song "Far Out" from their 1994 album [[Parklife]] mentions Betelgeuse in its lyrics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blur – Far Out Lyrics |url=https://genius.com/Blur-far-out-lyrics |website=genius.com |access-date=7 February 2020}}</ref>

The [[Philip Larkin]] poem "The North Ship", found in [[The North Ship|the collection of the same name]], references the star in the section "Above 80° N", which reads:
<blockquote>"&thinsp;'A woman has ten claws,' <br/>
Sang the drunken boatswain; <br/>
Farther than Betelgeuse,  <br/>
More brilliant than Orion  <br/>
Or the planets Venus and Mars, <br/>
The star flames on the ocean;  <br/>
'A woman has ten claws,' <br/>
Sang the drunken boatswain."</blockquote>
[[Humbert Wolfe]] wrote a poem about Betelgeuse, which was set to music by [[Gustav Holst]].<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4L0gidyMKgEC | title=Try Whistling This: Writings on Music | publisher=Black Incorporated | author-link=Andrew Ford (composer) | year=2012 | location=Collingwood, Victoria | isbn=9781921870682 | last=Ford | first=Andrew | chapter=Holst, the Mystic}}</ref>