Asterisk Emoji

Symbols

A classic six-pointed star shape, modeled after the physical asterisk key found on standard telephone handsets and computer keyboards.

Usage Context

Used widely in text messaging to denote corrections, emphasize a word, or represent a redaction in profanity. In coding and data entry, it acts as a wildcard or a multiplier. It is frequently grouped with # for automated phone menu prompts.

History

The word comes from the Greek 'asteriskos', meaning 'little star'. While it has been a staple in typography for centuries to mark footnotes, it became a core component of early telecommunications systems when telephone keypads were standardized with the # and asterisk buttons in the 1960s.

Details

Glyph

Unicode

U+002A

Shortcode

:emoji_u002a:

HTML Entity

Specifications

Vendor Google

Category Symbols

Subcategory math-symbol

Unicode Version 6.0

Emoji Version 1.0

License CC-BY 4.0

Google Noto License

Emoji graphics by Twitter/X, licensed under CC-BY 4.0

Noto Color Emoji graphics are copyrighted by Google Inc. and licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. Font files may also be subject to the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1.

Apache 2.0 SIL OFL 1.1 Noto Repository