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Pleiades

[ plee-uh-deez, plahy- ]

plural noun

  1. Classical Mythology. seven daughters of Atlas and half sisters of the Hyades, placed among the stars to save them from the pursuit of Orion. One of them (the Lost Pleiad ) hides, either from grief or shame.
  2. Astronomy. a conspicuous group or cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus, commonly spoken of as seven, though only six are visible.


Pleiades

1

/ ˈplaɪəˌdiːz /

plural noun

  1. a young conspicuous open star cluster approximately 370 light years away in the constellation Taurus, containing several thousand stars only six or seven of which are visible to the naked eye Compare Hyades 1
“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


Pleiades

2

/ ˈplaɪəˌdiːz /

plural noun

  1. Greek myth the seven daughters of Atlas, placed as stars in the sky either to save them from the pursuit of Orion or, in another account, after they had killed themselves for grief over the death of their half-sisters the Hyades
“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

Pleiades

/ plēə-dēz′ /

  1. A loose collection of several hundred stars in the constellation Taurus, at least six of which are visible to the unaided eye.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of Pleiades1

1350–1400; Middle English Pliades < Latin Plīades < Greek Pleíades (singular Pleías ); akin to pleîn to sail
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Example Sentences

The writer and anthropologist Daisy Bates reported people in central Australia regarded Orion as a “hunter of women,” and specifically of the women in the Pleiades.

In the northern sky in December is a beautiful cluster of stars known as the Pleiades, or the “seven sisters.”

The harvest is about the time of the setting of the Pleiades, and the grain is beaten out like barley.

The Hours, the rosy sister goddesses, joined in her grief, and the shining Pleiades veiled their faces in sorrow.

Now there are only six stars in the constellation called the Pleiades, and the little sister is constantly searching for them.

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades (Kīmah), or loose the bands of Orion?

This season being marked by the acronical rising of the Pleiades, that group has become associated with such observances.

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Pleiadplein air