An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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1) A large, loose grouping of 10 to 1000 stars that are of similar spectral type and share a common origin. The members move together through space, but have become gravitationally → unbound. Stellar associations are primarily identified by their common movement vectors and ages. → OB association; → T association; → R association.
2) An → unbound stellar agglomeration for which the age of the stars is smaller than the → crossing time (Giels & Portegies Zwart, 2010, MNRAS Letters, astro-ph/1010.1720). See also → star cluster.

The concept of stellar association was first introduced by Viktor A. Ambartsumian (1908-1996), Armenian astrophysicist (1947, Stellar Evolution and Astrophysics, Armenian Acad. of Sci.; German translation, Abhandl. Sowjetischen Astron. Ser. 1. 33, 1951). → stellar; → association.