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Pleiad

American  
[plee-uhd, plahy-uhd] / ˈpli əd, ˈplaɪ əd /

noun

  1. any of the Pleiades.

  2. French Pléiade.  a group of seven French poets of the latter half of the 16th century.

  3. (usually lowercase)  any group of eminent or brilliant persons or things, especially when seven in number.


Pleiad 1 British  
/ ˈplaɪəd /

noun

  1. one of the Pleiades (stars or daughters of Atlas)

"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

pleiad 2 British  
/ ˈplaɪəd /

noun

  1. a brilliant or talented group, esp one with seven members

"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

Etymology

Origin of pleiad

C16: originally French Pléiade, name given by Pierre de Ronsard to himself and six other poets after a group of Alexandrian Greek poets who were called this after the Pleiades 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Mayan urn was donated to Albion College Archives by alumnus Marvin Vann in 2003, the Pleiad reported.

From BBC

In an email to students and staff Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Johnson identified the person responsible for the graffiti as a “current student of color,” but did not reveal whether a motive had been determined, the student-run Albion Pleiad reported.

From Washington Times

A Black student was also recently threatened by a non-student while driving, the Pleiad reported.

From Washington Times

To come nearer home, New Zealand has her University and affiliated colleges; and West Australia is at this moment taking active steps for the establishment of her own State University, so that it remains at present doubtful whether Queensland or West Australia is to play the part of the most retiring of this pleiad of Australasian Universities.

From Project Gutenberg

Many of her short poems, such as “The Treasures of the Deep,” “The Better Land,” “The Homes of England,” “Casabianca,” “The Palm Tree,” “The Graves of a Household,” “The Wreck,” “The Dying Improvisatore,” and “The Lost Pleiad,” have become standard English lyrics.

From Project Gutenberg