Big Dipper
11
3.2
- noun
- /bɪɡ ˈdɪpər/
:
Gran Cucharón
- Among all the constellations, these two, especially the Big Dipper, are the most easily recognized.
- handle of the Big Dipper
- stars of the Big Dipper
But but I got a children's book out called The Dimly Lit Star, which is all about the two last stars on the Big Dipper, Mama shines and Little shines.
- But but I got a children's book out called The Dimly Lit Star, which is all about the two last stars on the Big Dipper, Mama shines and Little shines.
Examples
-
When you find the Big Dipper, you are looking north.
Fiction book (1999) -
Is that the Big Dipper or the little one?
-
Start from the front two stars of the Big Dipper.
-
You can see the Big Dipper on the left side of Mt. Rainier.
Blog text (25) -
The most familiar and helpful of these star groups are the Big Dipper and its smaller, fainter companion, the Little Dipper.
Fiction book (1999) -
Rachel continued, glancing at the dimly glowing star chart in her hand, "there's the Big Dipper."
Fiction book (1998) -
By habit, he looked upward and saw Orion and the Big Dipper, Gemini and the Pole Star, twinkling in the autumn sky.
Fiction book (1998) -
At night, you can easily spot the Big Dipper in the northern sky.
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The Big Dipper is part of the larger constellation Ursa Major.
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Many people learn to navigate by locating the Big Dipper and following its stars.
Synonyms
7
5.1
A group of seven bright stars in the sky that form the Big Dipper
1
6.6
A group of seven stars forming a bowl shape used to find the North Star
1
9.9
A small group of stars that makes a clear shape in the night sky
A group of seven bright stars that form the Big Dipper in the Ursa Major star pattern
A group of seven bright stars in the northern sky called the Big Dipper
Surface Forms
Morphology
Given the provided constituent meanings, the term is directly compositional: 'big' (large) + 'dipper' (a ladle-shaped asterism) yields the larger ladle-shaped star pattern. This naming is a straightforward shape-based composition (and has common cross-linguistic parallels), so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Big Dipper comes from the way people saw seven bright stars that made the shape of a large dipper or ladle in the night sky. Seeing the stars as a big spoon to scoop water makes a clear image, so the name stuck and the pattern is used to help find the 'North Star'.