Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A name of two constellations, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Great and the Little Bear.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Astron.) Either one of the Bears. See the Phrases below.
- noun the Great Bear, one of the most conspicuous of the northern constellations. It is situated near the pole, and contains the stars which form the
Dipper , orCharles's Wain , two of which are thePointers , or stars which point towards the North Star. - noun the Little Bear, the constellation nearest the north pole. It contains the north star, or polestar, which is situated in the extremity of the tail.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Weirdly, Jon and I were talking about the etymology of the German word for bear this morning, and how it comes from the word for brown, instead of the latin root ursus or ursa.
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First 30 minutes many to the left of the radiant ursa major area
Join the World in Looking for Geminids This Weekend with #MeteorWatch | Universe Today 2009
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Boswell would have supposed his office of bear-leader to the ursa major a thing to be envied.
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Steve Dyer dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima, harvard, rayssd, linus, m2c}! spdcc! dyer dyer@arktouros. mit.edu
Natural Highs Frequently Asked Questions by Vince Cavasin 1992
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= Compare _Tr_ III xi 7-8 'barbara me tellus et inhospita litora Ponti/cumque suo _Borea_ Maenalis ursa uidet' and
The Last Poems of Ovid 43 BC-18? Ovid
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Your uncle educated you thoroughly in the old Hebrew and Chaldee of the rabbis, and, lo! you are now the _ursa major_ of the wheat market.
Pharaoh's Broker Being the Very Remarkable Experiences in Another World of Isidor Werner Ellsworth Douglass
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My father compounded with my mother under the dragons tail, and my nativity was under ursa major; so that it follows I am rough and lecherous.
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Draped in silk and gold-brocaded like the _ursa major_ shone!
Maha-bharata The Epic of Ancient India Condensed into English Verse Romesh Dutt 1878
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Any one else, knowing the character and habits of Johnson, would have thought the same; and no one but Boswell would have supposed his office of bear-leader to the ursa major a thing to be envied.
Oliver Goldsmith Irving, Washington 1849
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Johnson, would have thought the same; and no one but Boswell would have supposed his office of bear-leader to the ursa major a thing to be envied.
Oliver Goldsmith A Biography Washington Irving 1821
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