Word of the Day

: August 18, 2009

canicular

adjective kuh-NIK-yuh-ler

What It Means

: of or relating to the dog days (the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere)

canicular in Context

During the canicular heat of August, many of the town's residents venture to the local swimming hole in search of a way to stay cool.

Did You Know?

The Latin word "canicula," meaning "small dog," is the diminutive form of "canis," source of the English word "canine." "Canicula" is also the Latin name for Sirius, the star that represents the hound of Orion in the constellation named for that hunter from Roman and Greek mythology. Because the first visible rising of Sirius occurs during the summer, the hot sultry days that occur from early July to early September came to be associated with the Dog Star. The Greeks called this time of year "hēmerai kynades," which the Romans translated into Latin as "dies caniculares," or as we know them in English, "the dog days."