Noah Webster
Asterias
ASTE'RIAS,
AS'TER, noun [Gr. a star.] Stella marina, sea-star, or star fish, a genus of the order of Molluscas. It has a depressed body with a coriaceous coat; is composed of five or more segments running out from a central part, and furnished with numerous tentacles, with a mouth below, in the center. There are many species.