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Hydras

 - 5 dictionary results

hy⋅dra

  [hahy-druh]
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–noun, plural -dras, -drae  [-dree] for 1–3, genitive -drae  [-dree] 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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hy·dra   (hī'drə)   
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.]
Hy·dra   (hī'drə)   
n.  

  1. Greek Mythology The many-headed monster that was slain by Hercules.

  2. A constellation in the equatorial region of the southern sky near Cancer, Libra, and Centaurus. Also called Snake2.

  3. 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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: hy·dra
Pronunciation: 'hI-dr&
Function: noun
: any of numerous small tubular freshwater hydrozoan polyps (Hydra and relatedgenera) having at one end a mouth surrounded by tentacles
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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