dog days

Etymology
, a calque of, from , from in reference to the star Sirius, which appears in Homeric Greek as "Orion's dog". The return of Sirius to the night sky (its heliacal rising), occurring in antiquity around July 25 (Athens) or 29 (Rome), was considered by the Greeks and Romans to herald what were considered the hottest, least healthy, and least lucky days of summer.

Noun

 * 1)  The days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August (Gregorian) at dates varying by latitude.
 * 2) * 1883, H.H.C. Dunwoody, "Proverbs Relating to Months, Weeks, and Days" in Weather Proverbs, Signal Service Notes, No. IX, p. 98:
 * Dog days bright and clear Indicate a good year; But when accompanied by rain, We hope for better times in vain.
 * 1) The unpleasantly hot days of late summer.
 * 2) Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.
 * 1) The unpleasantly hot days of late summer.
 * 2) Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.
 * 1) Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.
 * 1) Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.

Usage notes
Historically, the dog days have been variously reckoned from the cosmical or heliacal rising of Sirius in Canis Major or Procyon in Canis Minor, all of which vary by latitude and do not occur for most of the Southern Hemisphere. Sirius observes a period of almost exactly 365¼ days between risings, keeping it largely consistent with the Julian but not the Gregorian calendar; nonetheless, its dates occur somewhat later in the year over a span of millennia. These variations have caused the dog days to be reckoned as starting anywhere from 3 July to 15 August and lasting anywhere from 30 to 61 days. Canonical “dog daies” were observed from July 7 to September 5 in the 16th-century English liturgies. Modern almanacs sometimes give the days as 3 July to 11 August, ending rather than beginning with the heliacal rising of Sirius.

Translations

 * Bulgarian: горещници
 * Catalan:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:
 * Danish: hundedage
 * Dutch:
 * Faroese: hundadagar
 * Finnish:
 * French:
 * German:
 * Irish: laethe madrúla
 * Italian: ,
 * Korean:
 * Polish:
 * Portuguese: Canícula
 * Romanian:
 * Russian: мёртвый сезо́н, зно́йные ле́тние дни
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish: until late August
 * Turkish: eyyamıbahur


 * Arabic: سَمَائِم
 * Bulgarian: горещници
 * Catalan:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, 大热天
 * French:
 * Greek: κυνικά καύματα
 * Hungarian:
 * Italian:
 * Polish:
 * Portuguese:
 * Romanian: ,
 * Spanish:


 * Finnish:
 * Russian: мёртвый сезо́н