Hydra - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

hy·dra

Audio Help [hahy-druh] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -dras, -drae

Audio Help [-dree] Pronunciation Key for 1–3, genitive -drae

Audio Help [-dree] Pronunciation Key for 4.

1.	(often initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. a water or marsh serpent with nine heads, each of which, if cut off, grew back as two; Hercules killed this serpent by cauterizing the necks as he cut off the heads.

2.	any freshwater polyp of the genus Hydra and related genera, having a cylindrical body with a ring of tentacles surrounding the mouth, and usually living attached to rocks, plants, etc., but also capable of detaching and floating in the water.

3.	a persistent or many-sided problem that presents new obstacles as soon as one aspect is solved.

4.	(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Sea Serpent, a large southern constellation extending through 90° of the sky, being the longest of all constellations.

[Origin: 1325–75; < L < Gk hýdrā water serpent (r. ME ydre < MF < L); see otter

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Hydra

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

hy·dra Audio Help (hī'drə) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. hy·dras or hy·drae (-drē)
Any of several small freshwater polyps of the genus Hydra and related genera, having a naked cylindrical body and an oral opening surrounded by tentacles.

[New Latin Hydra, genus name, from Latin Hydra, Hydra; see Hydra.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hy·dra Audio Help (hī'drə) Pronunciation Key
n.

Greek Mythology The many-headed monster that was slain by Hercules.
A constellation in the equatorial region of the southern sky near Cancer, Libra, and Centaurus. Also called Snake².
A persistent or multifaceted problem that cannot be eradicated by a single effort.

[Middle English Idra, from Latin Hydra, from Greek Hudrā, Hydra, a water serpent; see wed-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
hydra

1835, genus name of a freshwater polyp, from Gk. Hydra, many-headed Lernaean water serpent slain by Hercules (this sense is attested in Eng. from c.1374), from hydor (gen. hydatos) "water" (see water (n.1)); related to Skt. udrah "aquatic animal" and O.E. ottur "otter." Used figuratively for "any multiplicity of evils" [Johnson].

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

hydra
noun
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
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

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

hydra Audio Help (hī'drə) Pronunciation Key
Plural hydras or hydrae (hī'drē)
See under hydroid.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hydra

Bud\, n. [OE. budde; cf. D. bot, G. butze, butz, the core of a fruit, bud, LG. butte in hagebutte, hainbutte, a hip of the dog-rose, or OF. boton, F. bouton, bud, button, OF. boter to bud, push; all akin to E. beat. See Button.]

1. (Bot.) A small protuberance on the stem or branches of a plant, containing the rudiments of future leaves, flowers, or stems; an undeveloped branch or flower.

2. (Biol.) A small protuberance on certain low forms of animals and vegetables which develops into a new organism, either free or attached. See Hydra.

Bud moth (Zo["o]l.), a lepidopterous insect of several species, which destroys the buds of fruit trees; esp. Tmetocera ocellana and Eccopsis malana on the apple tree.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

HYDRA

HYDRA: in Acronym Finder

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