An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A star located in the → Virgo constellation, also called ε Virginis. It is a yellow → giant of apparent magnitude 2.83 and → spectral type G8 III. Vindemiatrix lies about 102 → light-years from Earth, has a luminosity 83 times the → solar luminosity, and a → surface temperature about 5,000 K.

Etymology (EN): L. Vindemiatrix “grape-harvestress,” feminine of vindemiator “grape-hervester,” translation of Gk. names Protrugeter, Protrugetes, and Trugeter used by Ptolemy, Plutarch, and other Gk. authors. The first of these words denoted “Fruit-plucking Herald.” In Gk. trugos is the process of collecting the grapes. It has been argued that the first visibility of the star in morning light was the time of gathering the grapes. The original Gk. name was translated in Ar. as al-Mutaqaddim lil-Qaţāf (المتقدم للقطاف) “Harvest Precursor,” and later to Almuredin maybe with the same meaning, but the etymology is not clear.

Etymology (PE): Angurcin “grape harvester,” from angur “grape” (related to quré “unripe grape,” angordé “a single grape, a berry;” cf. Skt. ankurá- “buds, sprout, shoot, blossom, swelling”) + cin present stem of cidan “to gather, collect,” related to gozidan “to choose, select”
(Mid.Pers. cyn- “to gather, collect;” Av. ci- “to heap up, gather”