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Charles's Wain

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Charles's Wain

  [chahrl-ziz weyn]
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–noun British.
Big Dipper.
Origin:
bef. 1000; OE Carles wægn Carl's wagon (Carl for Charlemagne); see wain
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Big Dipper  
n.  A cluster of seven stars in the constellation Ursa Major, four forming the bowl and three the handle of a dipper-shaped configuration. Also called Charles's Wain, Plow.
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Charles''s Wain 
O.E. Carles wægn, associated with Charlemagne, originally with the nearby bright star Arcturus (see Arctic), which is linked by folk etymology to L. Arturus "Arthur." The crux of this is the legendary association of Arthur and Charlemagne. Other names for it are the Plough and the Big Dipper; it is an asterism, not a true constellation [technically, it is a part of Ursa Major]. M.E. septentrioun (1532, but septentronial "northern" is attested from c.1391) is from L. septentriones (pl.) "seven plow oxen," from septem "seven" + triotrio (gen. triones) "plow ox," from stem of terere (pt. tritustritus) "to rub."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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