Hyades
[hahy-uh-deez]
- Astronomy. a group of stars comprising a moving cluster in the constellation Taurus, supposed by the ancients to indicate the approach of rain when they rose with the sun.
- Classical Mythology. a group of nymphs and sisters of the Pleiades who nurtured the infant Dionysus and were placed among the stars as a reward.
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Also Hy·ads [hahy-adz] /ˈhaɪ ædz/.
Origin of Hyades
1350–1400; Middle English Hiades < Latin < Greek, equivalent to hý(ein) to rain + -ades, plural of -as -ad1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hyades
Contemporary Examples
Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
Historical Examples
Spenser's term for the Hyades, a group of seven stars in the head of the Bull.
The Sailor's Word-BookWilliam Henry Smyth
Another naked-eye double is formed by θ1 and θ2, in the Hyades.
Pleasures of the telescopeGarrett Serviss
Both the Pleiades and the Hyades are celestial constellations.
1000 Mythological Characters Briefly DescribedEdward S. Ellis
He was peculiarly named Hues, and his priests were the Hyades and Hyautes.
OphiolatreiaAnonymous
With Aldebaran rises the beautiful V-shaped group of the Hyades.
Astronomy with an Opera-glassGarrett Putman Serviss
Hyades1
Hyads (ˈhaɪædz)
- an open cluster of stars in the constellation TaurusCompare Pleiades 1
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Word Origin
C16: via Latin from Greek huades, perhaps from huein to rain
Hyades2
- Greek myth seven nymphs, daughters of Atlas, whom Zeus placed among the stars after death
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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
Word Origin and History for hyades
Hyades
star cluster in constellation Taurus, late 14c., from Greek Hyades, popularly explained as "rain-bringers" (from hyein "to rain"), because wet weather supposedly began coincidentally with their heliacal rising, but in fact probably from hys "swine" (the popular Latin word for them was Suculae "little pigs"). Grimm ("Teutonic Mythology") lists the Anglo-Saxon glosses of Hyades as Raedgastran, Raedgasnan, Redgaesrum.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper