dog days
/ˈdɒɡ deɪz/
"dog-days" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dog days” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August (Gregorian) at dates varying by latitude.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dog-days · dog days · English
dog days · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dog days |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɒɡ deɪz/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “dog days” in English
Rare enough to double-check
dog days is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɒɡ deɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dog days, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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 Gre… The correct English form is dog days, spelled D-O-G- -D-A-Y-S.
Definition
- 1The days following the heliacal rising of Sirius, now in early August (Gregorian) at dates varying by latitude.
- 2The unpleasantly hot days of late summer.
- 3Any similar period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dog days appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
... a sterre, wherof canicular or dogge days be named Dies caniculares.
Dog days bright and clear Indicate a good year; But when accompanied by rain, We hope for better times in vain.
Etymology
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.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.