Etymology

Charles' Wain

Today it means: A bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a wagon or cart. It is part of the constellation Ursa Major and includes the seven stars Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid. Full definition →

Middle English Charlewayn ← Old English carles wǣn ← Proto-Germanic *karlas wagnaz
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*karlas wagnaz
  2. Old English · inherited fromcarles wǣn
  3. Middle English · inherited fromCharlewayn
  4. English todayCharles' Wain

From Middle English Charlewayn, from Old English carles wǣn, apparently from a common Proto-Germanic *karlas wagnaz (cognate with forms in other Germanic languages, e.g. Swedish Karlavagnen). It seems that this common Germanic name originally meant the ‘peasant's wagon’ (the churls' wagon) in contrast to the ‘woman's wagon’ (Ursa Minor). Later it was interpreted as ‘Charles's wagon’ and associated with Charlemagne.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.