canicule means synonym of dog days. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
canicule is pronounced /ˈkanɪkjuːl/.
Why “canicule” is a great word
CANICULE — [Noun] A period of extremely hot weather, specifically the most oppressive heat of midsummer; the dog days. From French *canicule*, from Latin *canicula* ("little dog; the star Sirius"), a diminutive of *canis* ("dog"), as the hottest period of summer was associated with the heliacal rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Unlike "heatwave," a general meteorological anomaly, or "chenille," its etymological doublet now naming only a soft yarn, *canicule* is weighted with astral history and a specific, classical burden. It is the shimmering haze over deserted pavement, the heavy, metallic drone of cicadas, and the palpable weight of air thick as felt—a season governed by a distant star, a reminder that our deepest discomforts are mapped in an indifferent, ancient sky.
noun
- Synonym of dog days.“In fact, the incompatibility of your nature, and that of the Spanish climate, must ever be present to me, who, during the vivifying heats of the late very bearable canicule, in your French château[…]”