barnstar

See also: barn star and barn-star

English

A barnstar (sense 1).

A wiki barnstar (sense 3) awarded to users who clean up articles.

Alternative forms

• barn star, barn-star

Etymology

From barn +‎ star. In the wiki sense a reference to the communal practice of barnraising, introduced on the MeatballWiki in the early 2000s and adopted by Wikipedia in 2003.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

barnstar (plural barnstars)

2. A decorative painted object or image, often in the shape of a five-pointed star but occasionally in a circular wagon wheel style, used to adorn a barn.

   Coordinate terms: hex sign, barn quilt

4. A lucky charm resembling a star plate, similar to a horseshoe.
6. (Wikimedia jargon) An image posted on a wiki user's personal page by another user, as an informal award or form of recognition.
   • 2008, Jonathan Zittrain, The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It‎^[1], →ISBN, archived from the original on 3 July 2010, Notes: Chapter 6, page 290:

     There are many different Wikipedia barnstars that connote different things.

   • 2025 October 17, Andy Newman, “Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down Gunman at Conference”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 September 2026:

     Other Wikipedia editors responded to Mr. [Richard] Knipel’s courageous act by awarding him several “Barnstars,” the site’s official tokens of appreciation. “​​You’ve got some guts man!” wrote a user who awarded him a Barnstar of Diligence. Mr. Knipel did not respond to a request for comment.

Translations

A decorative painted object or image

• Spanish: cobestrella f

image posted on personal page

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 星章 (zh) (xīngzhāng)

• Indonesian: BintangWiki
• Spanish: cobestrella f