Asterism (typography) facts for kids

In typography, an asterism ("group of stars") is the typographic symbol consisting of three asterisks placed in a triangle: ⁂.

Now the symbol is used rarely and is nearly obsolete. Its purpose is to "indicate minor breaks in text", call attention to a passage, or to separate sub-chapters in a book.

Images for kids

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  Asterisms used as dinkuses in the James Joyce novel Ulysses, the "Wandering Rocks" chapter, from the 1922 edition. The 1961 edition used a hollow white star (☆), and the 1984 edition used a row of three asterisks.

See also

In Spanish: Asterismo (tipografía) para niños