[vee-nuh
s] 
| 1. | an ancient Italian goddess of gardens and spring, identified by the Romans with Aphrodite as the goddess of love and beauty. |
| 2. | an exceptionally beautiful woman. |
| 3. | (sometimes lowercase) Archaeology. a statuette of a female figure, usually carved of ivory and typically having exaggerated breasts, belly, or buttocks, often found in Upper Paleolithic cultures from Siberia to France. |
| 4. | Astronomy. the planet second in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 7521 miles (12,104 km), a mean distance from the sun of 67.2 million miles (108.2 million km), a period of revolution of 224.68 days, and no moons. It is the most brilliant planet in the solar system. |
| 5. | Chemistry Obsolete. copper. |
| Ve·nus (vē'nəs) n.
[Middle English, from Old English, from Latin, love, Venus; see wen-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
| Venus (vē'nəs) Pronunciation Key
The second planet from the Sun and the fourth smallest, with a diameter about 400 miles less than that of Earth. Venus is a terrestrial or inner planet and at inferior conjunction comes nearer to Earth than any other planet; depending on its phase, it is also the brightest object in the night sky aside from Earth's moon. Because Venus is an inferior planet (located between Earth and the Sun), it is only visible relatively near the horizon in the first few hours before sunrise or after sunset. It has a dense atmosphere consisting primarily of carbon dioxide, which, together with its proximity to the Sun, creates an intense greenhouse effect, making it the hottest planet in the solar system with an average surface temperature of 453°C (847°F). Venus is completely shrouded by a thick layer of clouds made up mainly of droplets of sulfuric acid with other clouds of vaporous and particulate sulfur dioxide below it. Radar mapping of the Venutian surface shows rolling hills, plains, and numerous volcanoes as well as large impact craters and extensive lava flows. See Table at solar system. |