dog days
UK /ˈdɒɡ deɪz/ · US /ˈdɔɡ deɪz/ noun
Forms dog day
- noun (archaic) The days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August (Gregorian) at dates varying by latitude.
- noun The unpleasantly hot days of late summer.
- noun Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.
Synonyms
Etymology
Calque of Latin diēs caniculārēs (“puppy days”), a calque of Ancient Greek κυνάδες ἡμέραι (kunádes hēmérai, “dog days”), from κυνάς (kunás, “of or related to dogs”), from Κῠ́ων (Kŭ́ōn, “the Dog”) in reference to the star Sirius, which appears in Homeric Greek as "Orion's dog". The return of Sirius to the night sky (its heliacal rising), occurring in antiquity around July 25 (Athens) or 29 (Rome), was considered by the Greeks and Romans to herald what were considered the hottest, least healthy, and least lucky days of summer.
Webster’s 1913
- A period of from four to six weeks, in the summer, variously placed by almanac makers between the early part of July and the early part of September; canicular days; --so called in reference to the rising in ancient times of the Dog Star (Sirius) with the sun. Popularly, the sultry, close part of the summer.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dog days”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details