fixed stars
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Stars whose relative position to other stars is always the same, as distin- guished from planets, which shift their relative positions.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “fixed stars” mean?
Stars whose relative position to other stars is always the same, as distin- guished from planets, which shift their relative positions.
Is “fixed stars” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.