Polaris aka Alrukaba

[trenner]

I have a friend who is fascinated by Polaris. It seems it is also called Alrukaba. We are unable to find out where that name came from. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thank you
Terry Renner

[Evil Dr Ganymede]

Google is your friend
http://home.t-online.de/home/OlafAmelsberg/astb-umi.htm

Though that page is german, so you might not understand it. From what I can gather from my unfeasibly limited understanding of German, the page claims that Polaris is arabic for the german word "Knie". Apparent that means either "Knee", "Elbow" or "Angle" which is odd considering its position. Maybe the arabs used it as the apex of an an angle between two other stars?!

(Funnily enough, if you do a search for "polaris alrukaba" most of the pages are in German?!)

[selden]

You might want to consult the (horrors!) printed reference "Star Names Their Lore and Meaning", by Richard Hinkley Allen, Dover, 1963, reprinted from the Stechert edition of 1899. Polaris has had quite a few names over the centuries and in different languages.

[ElPelado]

Google is your friend
http://home.t-online.de/home/OlafAmelsberg/astb-umi.htm

Though that page is german, so you might not understand it. From what I can gather from my unfeasibly limited understanding of German, the page claims that Polaris is arabic for the german word "Knie". Apparent that means either "Knee", "Elbow" or "Angle" which is odd considering its position. Maybe the arabs used it as the apex of an an angle between two other stars?!

(Funnily enough, if you do a search for "polaris alrukaba" most of the pages are in German?!)

Are you saying that polaris is a word in arabic?

[Slalomsk8er]

As I am hapen to be a swiss german speaking person I can confirm Mr. Evil Dr Ganymede:

Alrukaba == Knee

http://www.astronomie.de/bibliothek/artikel/sternbilder/kleiner_baer.htm

Die Araber nannten ihn Al Kutb, "die Achsel" oder Giedi, den M?rder des Mannes, um den die Sterne im Gro?en B?ren trauern. Seltener wird er auch Alrukaba, Knie, genannt.

Al Kutb == Shoulder (in german Achsel and Schulter are to diverent things!?)
Giedi == killer of man

Dominik

[Evil Dr Ganymede]

Are you saying that polaris is a word in arabic?

No - that "Alrukaba" is an arabic word. The Arabs named a lot of the bright stars, we just don't use a lot of their names anymore. Polaris is obviously an English (or Latin?) name.

[granthutchison]

(Funnily enough, if you do a search for "polaris alrukaba" most of the pages are in German?!)

That's because in English it's usually transliterated as Alrucaba, so you're selecting for German pages by using the "k".
The name Alrucaba seems to have been more generally applied to Beta UMi, but was applied to Alpha in the Alphonsine Tables and used thereafter ... maybe that's why the name doesn't make sense for Alpha. The older Arabic name for Alpha UMi is is Al Kiblah.

Polaris is obviously an English (or Latin?) name.

Stella Polaris: Latin for "Pole Star".

Grant