Epsilon Virginis is a star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Virgo

Virgo (constellation)

Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is . Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second largest constellation in the sky...

. It has the traditional name Vindemiatrix, which comes from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 through Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and means Grape Gatherer.

Vindemiatrix is a yellow giant star of apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 2.83 and spectral class

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 G8 III about 102 light years from Earth. It has a luminosity 83 times that of the sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

 with a surface temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

 of 4990 kelvin

Kelvin

The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...

.

There is evidence that Vindemiatrix is part of the Hyades

Hyades

Hyades may refer to:*Hyades *Hyades , an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus...

 group, associated with the cluster of that name in the constellation Taurus

Taurus (constellation)

Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is a Latin word meaning 'bull', and its astrological symbol is a stylized bull's head:...

.

Etymology

The traditional names Vindemiatrix and Vindemiator are from Latin vindēmiātrix, vindēmitor "the grape-harvestress". Additional medieval names are Almuredin, Alaraph, Provindemiator, Protrigetrix, and Protrygetor.

This star, along with β Vir

Beta Virginis

Beta Virginis is a star in the constellation Virgo. It has the traditional names Zavijava and Alaraph...

(Zavijava), γ Vir

Gamma Virginis

Gamma Virginis is a star in the constellation Virgo. It has the traditional names Porrima, Postvarta and Arich....

 (Porrima), η Vir

Eta Virginis

Eta Virginis is a star in the constellation Virgo. It has the traditional name Zaniah .Zaniah is about 204 light years distant from the Sun, and has apparent magnitude +3.9 and is of spectral type A2IV....

 (Zaniah) and δ Vir

Delta Virginis

Delta Virginis is a red giant star in the constellation Virgo. It also has the traditional name Auva.It has a spectral type of M3-III, and an magnitude of 3.38, bright enough to be seen with the naked eye...

, (Auva), were Al ʽAwwāʼ, the Barker.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Left Wall of Supreme Palace Enclosure

Supreme Palace enclosure

Tai Wei Yuan, the Supreme Palace Enclosure , is one of the San Yuan or Three enclosures. Stars and constellations of this group are visible during autumn in the Northern Hemisphere .-Asterisms:The asterisms are :...

, refers to an asterism consisting of ε Virginis, η Virginis

Eta Virginis

Eta Virginis is a star in the constellation Virgo. It has the traditional name Zaniah .Zaniah is about 204 light years distant from the Sun, and has apparent magnitude +3.9 and is of spectral type A2IV....

, γ Virginis

Gamma Virginis

Gamma Virginis is a star in the constellation Virgo. It has the traditional names Porrima, Postvarta and Arich....

, δ Virginis

Delta Virginis

Delta Virginis is a red giant star in the constellation Virgo. It also has the traditional name Auva.It has a spectral type of M3-III, and an magnitude of 3.38, bright enough to be seen with the naked eye...

 and α Comae Berenices

Alpha Comae Berenices

Alpha Comae Berenices is a star in the constellation Coma Berenices . Although it has the Bayer designation "alpha", at magnitude 4.32 it is actually fainter than Beta Comae Berenices. It has the traditional name Diadem. It is said to represent the crown worn by Queen Berenice...

. Consequently, ε Virginis itself is known as , representing , meaning The Second Eastern General. 東次將 (Dōngcìjiāng), westernized into Tsze Tseang by R.H. Allen and the meaning is "the Second General"