Why use * notation to define a pointer and dereference?

Question

Is there a reason c developers used the star to determine the type of pointer

int* x;

and dereferencing a pointer?

int y = *x;

Using the same symbol for two different things seems confusing, especially since they are always used in the same context.

Answer 1

There is an excellent answer to this topic in Quora from Brian Bee . I reproduce it here verbatim. http://www.quora.com/C-programming-language/Why-doesnt-C-use-better-notation-for-pointers

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