- the sultry part of the summer, supposed to occur during the period that Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun: now often reckoned from July 3 to August 11.
- a period marked by lethargy, inactivity, or indolence.
- the hot period of the summer reckoned in ancient times from the heliacal rising of Sirius (the Dog Star)
- a period marked by inactivity
