Charles's Wain

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Charles's Wain

n.
See Big Dipper.
[Middle English charleswen, Charles' (Charlemagne's) wain, probably reinterpreted from Old English carles wægn, churl's wain : carl, churl (from Old Norse karl) + wægn, wain; see wain.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Charles's Wain

(weɪn)
n
(Celestial Objects) another name for the Plough
[Old English Carles wægn, from Carl Charlemagne + wægn wain]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.Charles's Wain - a group of seven bright stars in the constellation Ursa MajorCharles's Wain - a group of seven bright stars in the constellation Ursa Major
Big Dipper, Plough, Wain, Wagon, Dipper
Great Bear, Ursa Major - a constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Mentioned in
References in classic literature
Over the snow-covered roofs could be seen a decorated cross with chains, and above it the rising triangle of Charles's Wain with the yellowish light of Capella.
View in context
No little Gradgrind had ever known wonder on the subject, each little Gradgrind having at five years old dissected the Great Bear like a Professor Owen, and driven Charles's Wain like a locomotive engine-driver.
View in context
But 'Arktos' is The Bear--the northern constellation called the Great Bear, the Plough, the Big Dipper, or Charles's Wain. And '-ikos' is an adjectival termination, so 'Arktikos' refers to the regions under the constellation--the far north.
'Arctic' or 'arctic'?
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