Canis Major

[ key-nis mey-jer ]

noun

, Astronomy.

, genitive Ca·nis Ma·jo·ris [key, -nis m, uh, -, jawr, -is, -, johr, -].

1. the Great Dog, a southern constellation between Puppis and Orion, containing Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest of the stars.

Canis Major

/ ˈkeɪnɪs /

noun

1. a constellation in the S hemisphere close to Orion, containing Sirius, the brightest star in the sky Also calledthe Great Dog

Canis Major

/ kā′nĭs /

1. A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Orion. Canis Major (the Greater Dog) contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Canis Major¹

< Latin: larger dog

Word History and Origins

Origin of Canis Major¹

Latin: the greater dog

Example Sentences

Astronomers have also located smaller dwarf galaxies that have bumped into the Milky Way’s gravitational field and been torn apart, like Canis Major and Sagittarius.

From Popular-Science

Virgo-originating cosmic rays bend around in the galaxy’s twisting field lines so that they strike us from the direction of Canis Major, where Auger sees the center of its excess.

From Quanta Magazine

Remember the time they had with those awful five-legged things from Canis Major?

From Project Gutenberg

Sirius, with a few other stars of much less lustre, form the constellation of Canis Major.

From Project Gutenberg

There are a number of bright stars in the constellation of Canis Major.

From Project Gutenberg

On doing which we find, after all, they are not much more like sheep than Canis Major is like a dog.

From Project Gutenberg

He made up openly to Canis Major and was shortly on what might almost be considered terms of affection with Venus.

From Project Gutenberg