Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dog day” come from?

dog day (English) comes from English dog days, from Latin diēs caniculārēs, from Ancient Greek κυνάδες ἡμέραι, from Ancient Greek κυνάς, from Ancient Greek Κῠ́ων — the Dog.

dog day (English): One of the dog days of summer: a late-summer day

Definitions

  1. One of the dog days of summer: a late-summer day

Ancestry of “dog day”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishdog daysThe days following the heliacal rising of Sirius,...
2Latindiēs caniculārēs—
3Ancient Greekκυνάδες ἡμέραιdog days
4Ancient Greekκυνάςof or related to dogs
5Ancient GreekΚῠ́ωνthe Dog
Every word from Ancient Greek Κῠ́ων →