A STAR-WIRED network is one which is based on a spokes-and-hub topology; There is a controlling center, from which connections are considered to radiate outwards like a star. This name came into use when token ring networking graduated from only being available in a ring configuration (IE, each system or node is connected only to its neighbors) to using MAUs and CAUs to provide more stability.
A star-wired configuration has less points of failure than a ring-wired network; While the loss of the controlling unit in the center can take down the entire network, the loss or failure of individual nodes does not. In a ring, the number of points of (total) failure is equal to the number of nodes; In a star, it is the number of hubs, plus the number of links between hubs.