An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A minor and faint → constellation in the southern sky at 0h 30m → right ascension, 33° south → declination. Its brightest star is variable with a mean magnitude of only 4.31. Sculptor contains the south Galactic pole. It also contains the → Sculptor Dwarf, which is a member of the → Local Group. Abbreviation: Scl; Genitive: Sculptoris.

Etymology (EN): Sculptor was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1713-1762).
He originally named it Apparatus Sculptoris “the sculptor’s studio,” but the name was later shortened. From L. sculp(ere) “to carve” + a suffix forming personal agent nouns.

Etymology (PE): Peykartarâš, from peykar “form, figure, body” (from Mid.Pers. pahikar “picture, image;” from O.Pers. patikara- “picture, (sculpted) likeness,” from patiy “against” (Av. paiti; Skt. prati; Gk. poti/proti + kara- “doer, maker,” from kar- “to do, make, build;” Av. kar-; Skt. kr-; cf. Skt. pratikrti- “an image, likeness, model; counterpart”) + tarâš “cutter,” from tarâšidan “to cut, hew; scape; shave;” (Mid.Pers. tâšitan “to cut, cleave; create by putting together different elements;” Av. taš- “to cut off, fashion, shape, create,” taša- “axe” (Mod.Pers. taš tišé “axe”),
tašan- “creator;” cf. Skt. taks- “to fom by cutting, tool, hammer, form,” taksan- “wood-cutter, carpenter;” Gk. tekton “carpenter,”
tekhne “art, skill, craft, method, system;” L. textere “to weave;” PIE *teks- “to fashion”).