Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A constellation in the region of the north celestial pole near Draco and Leo, containing the seven stars that form the Big Dipper.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun astronomy A large circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism the Big Dipper and the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Latin Ursa Māior : ursa, she-bear, bear, feminine of ursus, bear; see ursine + māior, greater; see major.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin ursa maior, the "greater bear"

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