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Glite Dictionary
Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor

7.1
A small group of stars in the north sky with the North Star
  • proper noun
  • /ˈɜr.sə ˈmaɪ.nər/
translation icon : Ursa Minor
  • Ursa Minor.

Examples

  • Many stargazers enjoy locating Ursa Minor for its distinctive shape resembling a small bear.

  • -That's Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.

    The Sure Thing (1985)

  • Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Dipper, is home to Polaris, the North Star.

  • Astronomers often refer to Ursa Minor when discussing navigation in the night sky.

Synonyms

Little Bear
vsUrsa Minor
6.0

A small group of stars in the northern sky that includes the North Star

is the same constellation but uses an alternative name

Surface Forms

Ursa Minor main

Morphology

Ursa + minor

The name literally combines Latin 'Ursa' (bear) with 'minor' (smaller/lesser), so a learner who knows those constituents can plausibly infer 'Little Bear' and thus the constellation sense. However, 'Ursa' is a Latin proper name not regular English vocabulary and 'minor' can be interpreted as 'not important' rather than 'smaller', and the fixed conventional use as a constellation name makes the interpretation only partially predictable.

Etymology

Ursa Minor comes from Latin for 'little bear' and was named because a small group of stars looks like a tiny bear in the northern sky. One popular image says the bright star 'Polaris' sits at the bear's tail, so sailors used Ursa Minor and its 'North Star' to find north.