Canicula

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Canicula
    n 1: the brightest star in the sky; in Canis Major [syn:
         {Sirius}, {Dog Star}, {Canicula}, {Sothis}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Dog Star \Dog" Star`\
   Sirius, a star of the constellation Canis Major, or the
   Greater Dog, and the brightest star in the heavens; -- called
   also {Canicula}, and, in astronomical charts, {[alpha] Canis
   Majoris}. See {Dog days}.
   [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Canicula \Ca*nic"u*la\, n. [L. canicula, lit., a little dog, a
   diminutive of canis dog; cf. F. canicule.] (Astron.)
   The Dog Star; Sirius.
   [1913 Webster]

[email protected]