An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A star of visual magnitude 4.8 lying 204 light-years away in the constellation → Aries. It is in fact a triple star system.

See also: The origin of Mesarthim (or Mesartim) is a matter of controversy. Some scholars have related it to the Ar. methartim (مثرطم) “very fat (animal),” but the connection is not obvious although the words are apparently similar. The original Ar. name was Šaratayn (الشرطین) “the two marks” denoting the current β and γ stars in Aries. It was also the name of the lunar mansion of which these two stars were members. Johann Bayer (1572-1625) erroneously related Šaratayn to the Hebrew Sartai, a current term in the astrological literature of his time.
Subsequently, others figured that Sartai was related to Hebrew Mesartim “servants.” The Latin transliteration and alteration Mesarthim found much
success in establishing itself as the proper name for star γ Arietis.