Hesperides

[ he-sper-i-deez ]

/ hɛˈspɛr ɪˌdiz /

noun

Classical Mythology.

(used with a plural verb) nymphs, variously given as three to seven in number, who guarded with the dragon Ladon the golden apples that were the wedding gift of Gaea to Hera.
(used with a singular verb) the garden where the golden apples were grown.
(used with a plural verb) Islands of the Blessed.

(italics) (used with a plural verb) a collection of poems (1648) by Robert Herrick.

Origin of Hesperides

see origin at Hesperus, -ides

OTHER WORDS FROM Hesperides

Hes·per·id·i·an

[hes-puh-rid-ee-uh n] /ˌhɛs pəˈrɪd i ən/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hesperides

It was like the Hesperides of Greek mythology, the western islands where grew the golden apples of immortality.
The Book of Hallowe'en|Ruth Edna Kelley
Of the gardens of Hesperides, we know nothing singular, but some golden apples.
Flowers and Flower-Gardens|David Lester Richardson
The dragon which guarded the apples in the garden of the Hesperides.
1000 Mythological Characters Briefly Described|Edward S. Ellis
Hercules would not let him go until he had learned in what locality he could find the golden apples of the Hesperides.
Myths and Legends of All Nations|Various

Heracles supports on his shoulders the vault of heaven, while the Titan Atlas brings him the golden apples of the Hesperides.
A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2)|A. H. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for hesperides

Hesperides

/ (hɛˈspɛrɪˌdiːz) /

pl n Greek myth

the daughters of Hesperus, nymphs who kept watch with a dragon over the garden of the golden apples in the Islands of the Blessed

(functioning as singular) the gardens themselves

another name for the Islands of the Blessed

Derived forms of Hesperides

Hesperidian (ˌhɛspəˈrɪdɪən) or Hesperidean, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012