Word of the Day : July 2, 2018

canicular \kuh-NIK-yuh-ler\ adjective

Definition

: of or relating to the period between early July and early September when hot weather occurs in the northern hemisphere

Did You Know?

The Latin word canicula, meaning "small dog," is the diminutive form of canis, source of the English word canine. Canicula was also the name for Sirius, the star that represents the hound of the hunter Orion in the constellation named for that Roman mythological figure. 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 called dies caniculares, or as we know them in English, "the dog days."

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Aired July 2, 2018

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