Adjacent Words

Hydra definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HY'DRA, n. [L. hydra. Gr. water.]
1. A water serpent. In fabulous history, a serpent or monster in the lake or marsh of Lerna, in Peloponnesus, represented as having many heads, one of which, being cut off, was immediately succeeded by another, unless the wound was cauterized. Hercules killed this monster by applying firebrands to the wounds, as he cut off the heads. Hence we give the name to a multitude of evils, or to a cause of multifarious evils.
2. A technical name of a genus of Zoophytes, called polypus, or polypuses.
3. A southern constellation, containing 60 stars.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (Greek mythology) monster with nine heads; when struck off each head was replaced by two new ones; "Hydra was slain by Hercules"
2: a long faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near the equator stretching between Virgo and Cancer [syn: Hydra, Snake]
3: trouble that cannot be overcome by a single effort because of its many aspects or its persistent and pervasive quality; "we may be facing a hydra that defies any easy solution"
4: small tubular solitary freshwater hydrozoan polyp

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English Ydra, from Latin Hydra, from Greek Date: 15th century 1. a many-headed serpent or monster in Greek mythology that was slain by Hercules and each head of which when cut off was replaced by two others 2. not capitalized a multifarious evil not to be overcome by a single effort 3. [Latin (genitive Hydrae), from Greek] a southern constellation of great length that lies south of Cancer, Sextans, Corvus, and Virgo and is represented on old maps by a serpent 4. not capitalized [New Latin, from Latin, Hydra] any of numerous small tubular freshwater hydrozoan polyps (Hydra and related genera) having at one end a mouth surrounded by tentacles II. geographical name or Modern Greek Ídhra island Greece in S Aegean Sea off E coast of Peloponnese area 20 square miles (52 square kilometers), population 2794 • Hydriot or Hydriote noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a freshwater polyp of the genus Hydra with tubular body and tentacles around the mouth. 2 any water-snake. 3 something which is hard to destroy. Etymology: ME f. L f. Gk hudra water-snake, esp. a fabulous one with many heads that grew again when cut off

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hydra Hy"dra, n.; pl. E. Hydras, L. Hydr[ae]. [L. hydra, Gr. "y`dra; akin to "y`dwr water. See Otter the animal, Water.] 1. (Class. Myth.) A serpent or monster in the lake or marsh of Lerna, in the Peloponnesus, represented as having many heads, one of which, when cut off, was immediately succeeded by two others, unless the wound was cauterized. It was slain by Hercules. Hence, a terrible monster. Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire. --Milton. 2. Hence: A multifarious evil, or an evil having many sources; not to be overcome by a single effort. 3. (Zo["o]l.) Any small fresh-water hydroid of the genus Hydra, usually found attached to sticks, stones, etc., by a basal sucker. Note: The body is a simple tube, having a mouth at one extremity, surrounded by a circle of tentacles with which it captures its prey. Young hydras bud out from the sides of the older ones, but soon become detached and are then like their parent. Hydras are remarkable for their power of repairing injuries; for if the body be divided in pieces, each piece will grow into a complete hydra, to which fact the name alludes. The zooids or hydranths of marine hydroids are sometimes called hydras. 4. (Astron.) A southern constellation of great length lying southerly from Cancer, Leo, and Virgo.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. (Mythol.) Many-headed monster. 2. Spectre, hobgoblin, ogre, Gorgon, bugbear, poker, bugaboo, frightful object, raw head and bloody bones.