Star of David

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

A large yellow cloth star which Jews and persons of Jewish descent were forced to wear on their clothes under the Nazi and Fascist regimes. To express his disap- proval of this racial indignity King Christian X of Denmark himself wore a Star of David during the German occupation of his country.

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 “Star of David” mean?

A large yellow cloth star which Jews and persons of Jewish descent were forced to wear on their clothes under the Nazi and Fascist regimes. To express his disap- proval of this racial indignity King Christian X of Denmark himself wore a Star of David during the German occupation of his country.

Is “Star of David” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.