canicula

Latin noun

Last edited: 2024-09-23
Primary meaning Sirius
Literal translation little dog
Variants
canicula
Edited by
Sirius star

In I. parte Leonis oritur Canicula quae a Graecis Sirios dicitur.

‘At 1° Leo rises the Little Dog which is called Sirios by the Greeks.’

— Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis 8.10.1

Genre: astrological compendium
Provenance: Sicily
Date: ca. 334 CE

Firmicus Maternus. 1897. Ivlii Firmici Materni Matheseos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll, F. Skutsch. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. 2.303

the Dog constellation

modern Canis major

subsequitur rapido contenta Canicula cursu

‘At his heels follows the Dog outstretched in full career:’

— Manilius, Astronomica 1.396

Genre: astrological treatise

Manilius. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977. 34-35

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). canicula (Lemma #1476). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1476/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). canicula (Lemma #1476). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1476/
MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). canicula (Lemma #1476). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1476/
Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2024) canicula (Lemma #1476), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1476/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac1476,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2024},
	title = {canicula ({Lemma} #1476)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1476/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1476/},
}