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Glite Dictionary
Great Dog

Great Dog

8.6
A group of stars in the southern sky southeast of Orion that includes the bright star Sirius
  • proper noun
translation icon : Gran Perro
  • In winter, the Great Dog is easily visible southeast of Orion.

Examples

  • Ancient astronomers named the constellation Great Dog because of its shape.

  • Look at the Great Dog!

  • The star Sirius in the Great Dog is the brightest in the night sky.

  • The Great Dog constellation is visible in the southern hemisphere.

  • The constellation known as Great Dog, or Canis Major, contains the bright star Sirius.

  • Astronomers often study the Great Dog constellation to observe its star patterns.

  • During the winter months, the Great Dog constellation can be seen shining brightly in the southern sky.

Synonyms

Canis Major
vsGreat Dog
8.1

A group of stars in the southern sky containing the bright star Sirius

is an alternative name for that same constellation

Surface Forms

Great Dog main

Morphology

great + Dog

Although the phrase literally combines 'great' and 'dog' and would normally suggest a large dog, the MWE refers to a specific astronomical proper name (the constellation Canis Major). A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably infer the specialized celestial meaning from the parts alone; this is a conventionalized proper-name sense rather than a compositional meaning.

Etymology

Great Dog was named by ancient people who saw the stars forming a big Dog in the night sky, and the brightest star there, Sirius, was called the 'Dog Star'. That's why Great Dog is the name for that group of stars, or the 'constellation'.