Dog Star
- noun
- /dɔg stɑr/
- Okay, what about the brightest star in the sky, the "Dog Star" Sirius in the constellation Canis Major?
- Dog Star, Sirius
Examples
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There's Sirius, the Dog Star.
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The Dog Star, also known as Sirius, shines brightly in the night sky.
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Dude, you never heard of the Dog Star?
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You know, it's also called the Dog Star.
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In that position, M41 appears directly below the Dog Star.
Academic text (2005) -
Part of this understanding is the Dog Star that is tied to Sirius.
Blog text (19) -
Until finally Sirius, the faithful Dog Star, shows me the way.
Fiction book (1995) -
Dogs: Sothis (Sirrus), the Dog Star associated with Isis;
Blog text (20) -
Many cultures have myths connected to the Dog Star, which is the brightest star in Canis Major.
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Every summer, stargazers look forward to the Dog Star rising in the southeast.
Synonyms
The brightest star in the night sky in the group of stars called Canis Major
An old name for Sirius, the brightest star called the Dog Star in the group Canis Major
An ancient name for the brightest star, seen in the big dog group of stars
Surface Forms
Morphology
Dog + star
The compound is compositionally built from 'dog' + 'star', so a learner can infer it refers to a star associated with a dog (i.e. in the dog constellation). However, identifying it specifically as Sirius and 'the brightest star' requires extra cultural/encyclopedic knowledge beyond constituent meanings, so the relation is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Dog Star comes from the bright star 'Sirius' being in a group of stars people called the 'Great Dog', so they thought of it as a dog's star. That's why Dog Star today means the star 'Sirius', the brightest star in the night sky.