Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A constellation in the equatorial region of the Southern Hemisphere near Hydra and Monoceros, containing the star Procyon.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun astronomy A small
winter constellation of thenorthern sky, said to resemble adog following thehunter Orion . It is most notable for including theeighth brightest star in the night sky,Procyon .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a constellation to the east of Orion; contains Procyon
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Latin : canis, dog + minor, smaller.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Latin canis minor, the "lesser dog"
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Examples
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-- Monoceros is to be found east of Orion between Canis Major and Canis Minor.
A Field Book of the Stars William Tyler Olcott 1904
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Dog (_Canis Minor_) beside them on their left, the Crab (_Cancer_) above, the Greater Dog (_Canis Major_) below, chasing the Hare
Half-Hours with the Stars A Plain and Easy Guide to the Knowledge of the Constellations 1862
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