Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun astronomy A bright
circumpolar asterism of thenorthern sky, said to resemble awagon orcart . It is part of theconstellation Ursa Major and includes the seven starsDubhe , Merak,Phecda , Megrez,Alioth ,Mizar , andAlkaid .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Old English carles wǣn, apparently from a common Proto-Germanic *karlas wagnaz (cognate with forms in other Germanic languages). 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.
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