What does * means on ABC dico

[Long Pan]

What does the * means on the pinyin given by ABC; for instance 协商 appears as xie2shang1*
Thanks

 

[gato]

From the Reader's Guide to the ABC Dictionary:

http://www.chinesestudies.hawaii.edu/abc/
7. For entries with identical spelling, including tones, arrangement is by order of frequency, indicated by a raised number before the transcription, a device adapted from Western lexicographic practice to distinguish homonyms.

For entries that are homographic if tones are disregarded, the item of highest frequency is indicated by an asterisk following the transcription.

In other words, the asterisk is used to mark the most common word among words that have the same pinyin (ignoring the tone) but written with different characters.

 

[Long Pan]

Thanks gato, very interesting indeed