Lambda Velorum 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....

 Vela

Vela (constellation)

Vela is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the sails of a ship, and it was originally part of a larger constellation, the ship Argo Navis, which was later divided into three parts, the others being Carina and Puppis.-Stars:...

. It has the traditional name Suhail

Suhail

Suhail is an Arabic term meaning handsome, brilliant, noble, glorious, easy-going, and peaceful...

(which, confusingly, is sometimes used for Gamma Velorum

Gamma Velorum

Gamma Velorum is a star system in the constellation Vela. At magnitude +1.7, it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the traditional names Suhail and Suhail al Muhlif, which confusingly also apply to Lambda Velorum...

).

Lambda Velorum is a supergiant

Supergiant

Supergiants are among the most massive stars. They occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. In the Yerkes spectral classification, supergiants are class Ia or Ib . They typically have bolometric absolute magnitudes between -5 and -12...

 or bright giant

Bright giant

The luminosity class II in the Yerkes spectral classification is given to bright giants. These are stars which straddle the boundary between giants and supergiants, and the classification is in general given to giant stars with exceptionally high luminosity, but which are not sufficiently bright...

 star of 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...

 K5. Supergiant stars use up their hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

 "fuel" much faster than do smaller stars and λ Velorum is estimated to be only some 27 million years old. It is classified as an irregular

Irregular variable

An irregular variable is a type of variable star in which variations in brightness show no regular periodicity. There are two main sub-types of irregular variable: eruptive and pulsating.Eruptive irregular variables are divided into three categories:...

 variable star

Variable star

A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth...

 and its brightness varies from magnitude +2.14 to +2.30.
The medieval name Suhail (Al Suhail, Alsuhail, Suhail Alwazn) is short for the Arabic السهيل الوزن suhayl al-wazn

Wazn

Rhythm in Arabian music is analysed by means of rhythmic units called awzan and iqa'at.-Wazn and Iqa':A rhythmic pattern or cycle in Arabian music is called a "wazn" , literally a "measure", also called darb, mizan, and usul as is in Ottoman classical music)...

"The glorious (star) of the cycle".