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Webster 1913 Edition


Venus

Ve′nus

(vē′nŭs)
,
Noun.
[L.
Venus
,
-eris
, the goddess of love, the planet Venus.]
1.
(Class. Myth.)
The goddess of beauty and love, that is, beauty or love deified.
2.
(Anat.)
One of the planets, the second in order from the sun, its orbit lying between that of Mercury and that of the Earth, at a mean distance from the sun of about 67,000,000 miles. Its diameter is 7,700 miles, and its sidereal period 224.7 days. As the morning star, it was called by the ancients
Lucifer
; as the evening star,
Hesperus
.
3.
(Alchem.)
The metal copper; – probably so designated from the ancient use of the metal in making mirrors, a mirror being still the astronomical symbol of the planet Venus.
[Archaic]
4.
(Zool.)
Any one of numerous species of marine bivalve shells of the genus
Venus
or family
Veneridae
. Many of these shells are large, and ornamented with beautiful frills; others are smooth, glossy, and handsomely colored. Some of the larger species, as the round clam, or quahog, are valued for food.
Venus’s basin
(Bot.)
,
the wild teasel; – so called because the connate leaf bases form a kind of receptacle for water, which was formerly gathered for use in the toilet. Also called
Venus's bath
.
Venus's basket
(Zool.)
,
an elegant, cornucopia-shaped, hexactinellid sponge (
Euplectella speciosa
) native of the East Indies. It consists of glassy, transparent, siliceous fibers interwoven and soldered together so as to form a firm network, and has long, slender, divergent anchoring fibers at the base by means of which it stands erect in the soft mud at the bottom of the sea. Called also
Venus's flower basket
, and
Venus's purse
.
Venus's comb
.
(a)
(Bot.)
Same as
Lady's comb
.
(b)
(Zool.)
A species of
Murex
(
Murex tenuispinus
). It has a long, tubular canal, with a row of long, slender spines along both of its borders, and rows of similar spines covering the body of the shell. Called also
Venus's shell
.
Venus's fan
(Zool.)
,
a common reticulated, fanshaped gorgonia (
Gorgonia flabellum
) native of Florida and the West Indies. When fresh the color is purple or yellow, or a mixture of the two.
Venus's flytrap
.
(Bot.)
See
Flytrap
, 2.
Venus's girdle
(Zool.)
,
a long, flat, ribbonlike, very delicate, transparent and iridescent ctenophore (
Cestum Veneris
) which swims in the open sea. Its form is due to the enormous development of two spheromeres. See Illust. in Appendix.
Venus's hair
(Bot.)
,
a delicate and graceful fern (
Adiantum Capillus-Veneris
) having a slender, black and shining stem and branches.
Venus's hair stone
(Min.)
,
quartz penetrated by acicular crystals of rutile.
Venus's looking-glass
(Bot.)
,
an annual plant of the genus
Specularia
allied to the bellflower; – also called
lady's looking-glass
.
Venus's navelwort
(Bot.)
,
any one of several species of
Omphalodes
, low boraginaceous herbs with small blue or white flowers.
Venus's pride
(Bot.)
,
an old name for Quaker ladies. See under
Quaker
.
Venus's purse
.
(Zool.)
Same as
Venus's basket
, above.
Venus's shell
.
(Zool.)
(a)
Any species of Cypraea; a cowrie.
(b)
Same as
Venus's comb
, above.
(c)
Same as
Venus
, 4.
Venus's slipper
.
(a)
(Bot.)
Any plant of the genus
Cypripedium
. See
Lady's slipper
.
(b)
(Zool.)
Any heteropod shell of the genus
Carinaria
. See
Carinaria
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Venus

VE'NUS

,
Noun.
[L. ventus, venenum; Eng. venom to poison, to fret or irritate. These affinities lead to the true origin of these words. The primary sense of the root is to shoot or rush, as light or wind. From light is derived the sense of white, fair, Venus, or it is from opening, parting; and from rushing, moving, comes wind, and the sense of raging, fury, whence L. venenum, poison, that which frets or causes to rage. These words all coincide with L. venio, which signifies to rush, to fall, to happen; venor, to hunt, &c. The Greeks had the same idea of the goddess of love,
viz.
that her name signified fairness, whiteness, and hence the fable that she sprung from froth, whence her Green name.]
1.
In mythology, the goddess of beauty and love; that is, beauty or love deified; just as the Gaelic and Irish diana, swiftness, impetuosity, is denominated the goddess of hunting.
2.
In astronomy, one of the inferior planets, whose orbit is between the earth and Mercury; a star of brilliant splendor.
3.
In the old chimistry, a name given to copper.

Definition 2024


Vénus

Vénus

See also: Venus, venus, Venüs, and Vênus

French

Proper noun

Vénus f

  1. Venus

Synonyms


Portuguese

Vénus

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin Venus.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Vénus f (European orthography)

  1. (Roman mythology) Venus (goddess of love and beauty)

Proper noun

Vénus m (European orthography)

  1. (astronomy) Venus (second planet in the Solar System)

Related terms

See also