Hesperides

[he-sper-i-deez]

noun

1. Classical Mythology.

   1. (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 Gaia to Hera.

   2. (used with a singular verb),  the garden where the golden apples were grown.

   3. (used with a plural verb),  Islands of the Blessed.

2. (italics),  a collection of poems (1648) by Robert Herrick.

Hesperides

/ hɛˈspɛrɪˌdiːz, ˌhɛspəˈrɪdɪən /

plural noun

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

2. (functioning as singular) the gardens themselves

3. another name for the Islands of the Blessed

Other Word Forms

• Hesperidian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hesperides¹

First recorded in 1590–1610; Hesperus, -ides