Meanings
singular dog day
- archaicpluralplural normallyThe days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August (Gregorian) at dates varying by latitude.
... a sterre, wherof canicular or dogge days be named Dies caniculares.
1538, Thomas Elyot, “Canicula”, in The Dictionary of Syr Thomas Eliot1 more example
Dog days bright and clear Indicate a good year; But when accompanied by rain, We hope for better times in vain.
1883, H.H.C. Dunwoody, "Proverbs Relating to Months, Weeks, and Days" in Weather Proverbs, Signal Service Notes, No. IX, p. 98Synonyms: canicular days
- pluralplural normallyThe unpleasantly hot days of late summer.
The dog days of August have often spelled trouble for the world economy.
2013 August 17, “A Rickety Rebound”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 88491 more example
Why ſhould thoſe Eteſian and Eaſterne winds blow cōtinually in ſome places, at ſet times, one way ſtill, in the dog dayes only: heere perpetuall drought, there dropping ſhowres; [...]
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Ayre Rectified. With a Digression of the Ayre.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 2, member 3, page 214 - pluralplural normallyAny similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.
The two-cassette miniseries, produced by Oliver Stone, arrives in early August, in time to stir the dog days of summer rentals.
1993, Billboard, volume 105, number 24, page 62
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August (Gregorian) at dates varying by latitude.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe hot period between early July and early September; a period of inactivity
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekκυνάδες ἡμέραι“dog days”
- Latindiēs caniculārēs“puppy days”
- Englishdog days
Calque of Latin diēs caniculārēs (“puppy days”), a calque of Ancient Greek κυνάδες ἡμέραι (kunádes hēmérai, “dog days”), from κυνάς (kunás, “of or related to dogs”), from Κῠ́ων (Kŭ́ōn, “the Dog”) 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.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَيَّام الشِّعْرَى, الخَمَاسِين
- أَيَّام الشِّعْرَى (ʔayyām aš-šiʕrā)the days between early July and early September
- الخَمَاسِين (al-ḵamāsīn)the days between early July and early September
- سَمَائِم (samāʔim)unpleasantly hot days
Bulgarian горещници, горещници
- горещници (goreštnici)the days between early July and early September
- горещници (goreštnici)unpleasantly hot days
Catalan canícula, canícula
- canículathe days between early July and early September
- canículaunpleasantly hot days
Chinese Mandarin 三伏, 三伏天
- 三伏 (sānfú)the days between early July and early September
- 三伏天 (sānfútiān)unpleasantly hot days
- 大热天unpleasantly hot days
Danish hundedage
- hundedagethe days between early July and early September
Dutch hondsdagen
- hondsdagenthe days between early July and early September
Finnish mätäkuu, kissanpäivät
- mätäkuuthe days between early July and early September
- kissanpäivätperiod of inactivity, laziness or stagnation
French canicule, canicule
- caniculethe days between early July and early September
- caniculeunpleasantly hot days
German Hundstage
- Hundstagethe days between early July and early September
Greek κυνικά καύματα
- κυνικά καύματα (kyniká kávmata)unpleasantly hot days
Hungarian kánikula
- kánikulaunpleasantly hot days
Irish laethe madrúla
- laethe madrúlathe days between early July and early September
Italian canicola, solleone
- canicolathe days between early July and early September
- solleonethe days between early July and early September
- solleoneunpleasantly hot days
Japanese 真夏
- 真夏 (manatsu)the days between early July and early September
Korean 삼복
- 삼복 (sambok)the days between early July and early September
Norwegian Bokmål hundedager
- hundedagerthe days between early July and early September
Persian روزهای سگی
- روزهای سگی (ruzhāye sagi)the days between early July and early September
Polish kanikuła, kanikuła
- kanikułathe days between early July and early September
- kanikułaunpleasantly hot days
- martwy sezonperiod of inactivity, laziness or stagnation
Portuguese Canícula, canícula
- Canículathe days between early July and early September
- canículaunpleasantly hot days
Romanian caniculă, caniculă
- caniculăthe days between early July and early September
- caniculăunpleasantly hot days
- arșițăunpleasantly hot days
Russian мёртвый сезо́н, зно́йные ле́тние дни
- мёртвый сезо́н (mjórtvyj sezón)the days between early July and early September
- зно́йные ле́тние дни (znójnyje létnije dni)the days between early July and early September
- мёртвый сезо́н (mjórtvyj sezón)period of inactivity, laziness or stagnation
Spanish canícula, canícula
- canículathe days between early July and early September
- canículaunpleasantly hot days
Swedish rötmånad
- rötmånadthe days between early July and early September
Turkish eyyamıbahur
- eyyamıbahurthe days between early July and early September
Cite this entry
dog days. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dog%20days
“dog days.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dog%20days. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dog days,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dog%20days.
Source: dog days on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.