Di⋅an⋅a
[dahy-an-uh] 
| 1. | (Princess of Wales; Lady Diana Spencer ), 1961–97, former wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. |
| 2. | an ancient Roman deity, virgin goddess of the moon and of hunting, and protector of women, identified by the Romans with the Greek Artemis. |
| 3. | the moon personified as a goddess. |
| 4. | Also, Di⋅ane [dahy-an] . a female given name. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| Di·an·a (dī-ān'ə) n. Roman Mythology The virgin goddess of hunting and childbirth, traditionally associated with the moon and identified with the Greek Artemis. [Middle English, from Latin Diāna; see dyeu- in Indo-European roots.] |
| Diana, Princess of Wales. Title of Lady Diana Frances Spencer. 1961-1997. British consort of Charles, Prince of Wales, from 1981 until their divorce in 1996. |
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Diana
Di*a"na\, n. [L. Diana.] (Myth.) The daughter of Jupiter and Latona; a virgin goddess who presided over hunting, chastity, and marriage; -- identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. And chaste Diana haunts the forest shade. --Pope. Diana monkey (Zo["o]l.), a handsome, white-bearded monkey of West Africa (Cercopithecus Diana).Cite This Source
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Diana
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Diana
so called by the Romans; called Artemis by the Greeks, the "great" goddess worshipped among heathen nations under various modifications. Her most noted temple was that at Ephesus. It was built outside the city walls, and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. "First and last it was the work of 220 years; built of shining marble; 342 feet long by 164 feet broad; supported by a forest of columns, each 56 feet high; a sacred museum of masterpieces of sculpture and painting. At the centre, hidden by curtains, within a gorgeous shrine, stood the very ancient image of the goddess, on wood or ebony reputed to have fallen from the sky. Behind the shrine was a treasury, where, as in 'the safest bank in Asia,' nations and kings stored their most precious things. The temple as St. Paul saw it subsisted till A.D. 262, when it was ruined by the Goths" (Acts 19:23-41)., Moule on Ephesians: Introd.
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