Venus

[vee-nuh s]

noun, plural Ve·nus·es for 2.

an ancient Italian goddess of gardens and spring, identified by the Romans with Aphrodite as the goddess of love and beauty.

an exceptionally beautiful woman.

(sometimes lowercase) Archaeology. a statuette of a female figure, usually carved of ivory and typically having exaggerated breasts, belly, or buttocks, often found in Upper Paleolithic cultures from Siberia to France.

Astronomy. the planet second in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 7521 miles (12,104 km), a mean distance from the sun of 67.2 million miles (108.2 million km), a period of revolution of 224.68 days, and no moons. It is the most brilliant planet in the solar system.

Chemistry Obsolete. copper¹(def 1).

Origin of Venus

< Latin Venus, stem Vener- originally a neuter common noun meaning “physical desire, sexual appetite,” hence “qualities exciting desire, seductiveness, charm,” “a goddess personifying sexual attractiveness”; cognate with Sanskrit vanaḥ desire, akin to wish; cf. venerate, venom

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

Related Words for venus

vision, earth, charmer, looker, enchanter, ornament, eyeful, stunner, dream, Adonis, beaut, Venus, Apollo, belle, lovely, dreamboat, good-looker, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury

Examples from the Web for venus

Contemporary Examples of venus

Can you imagine flying to Venus in an Apollo-era ship based on the same technology, as some NASA people proposed?
To Infinity and Beyond! NASA’s Orion Mission Blasts Off
Matthew R. Francis
December 4, 2014
Displays of malformations were obviously often strikingly offensive, none more so than the “Hottentot Venus.”
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus
Anthony Paletta
November 27, 2014
Venus Williams Why You Might Know Her: The other half of the famous Williams sister duo has seven majors in her career.
12 Things You Didn’t Know About the Quirky Stars of Wimbledon
Nicholas McCarvel
June 23, 2014
Venus orbits the Sun within the habitable zone, and is only slightly smaller than Earth.
What Does the Discovery of “Another Earth” Mean for Us?
Matthew R. Francis
April 18, 2014
People have taken to calling us the ‘Venus and Serena of media,’ which I think is hysterical.
Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland’s Epic Sibling Rivalry
Keli Goff
December 17, 2013

Historical Examples of venus

He had probably "Venus and Adonis" in his pocket when he first reached London.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
It is all concerned with the wooing of young Adonis by Venus, an older woman.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
Above his head are the three symbols of the Moon, the Sun, and the planet Venus.
The Babylonian Legends of the Creation
British Museum
I also sold my share in the Venus' voyage for one hundred and twenty dollars.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
This angered Venus, and she resolved to cast down her earthly rival.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Josephine Preston Peabody

British Dictionary definitions for venus

Venus

noun

the Roman goddess of loveGreek counterpart: Aphrodite

mount of Venus See mons veneris

Venus

noun

one of the inferior planets and the second nearest to the sun, visible as a bright morning or evening star. Its surface is extremely hot (over 400°C) and is completely shrouded by dense cloud. The atmosphere is principally carbon dioxide. Mean distance from sun: 108 million km; period of revolution around sun: 225 days; period of axial rotation: 244.3 days (retrograde motion); diameter and mass: 96.5 and 81.5 per cent that of earth respectively

the alchemical name for copper 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

Word Origin and History for venus

Venus

Old English, from Latin Venus (plural veneres), in ancient Roman mythology, the goddess of beauty and love, especially sensual love, from venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness, beauty, charm," from PIE root *wen- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied" (cf. Sanskrit vanas- "desire," vanati "desires, loves, wins;" Avestan vanaiti "he wishes, is victorious;" Old English wynn "joy," wunian "to dwell," wenian "to accustom, train, wean," wyscan "to wish"). Applied by the Romans to Greek Aphrodite, Egyptian Hathor, etc. Meaning "second planet from the sun" is attested from late 13c. (Old English had morgensteorra and æfensteorra).

The venus fly-trap (Dionæa muscipula) was discovered 1760 by Gov. Arthur Dobbs in North Carolina and description sent to Collinson in England. The Algonquian name for the plant, titipiwitshile, yielded regional American English tippity wichity.

venus in Science

Venus

[vē′nəs]

The second planet from the Sun, with a diameter about 400 miles less than that of Earth. Venus is a terrestrial or inner planet and at inferior conjunction comes nearer to Earth than any other planet; depending on its phase, it is also the brightest object in the night sky aside from Earth's moon. Because Venus is an inferior planet (located between Earth and the Sun), it is only visible relatively near the horizon in the first few hours before sunrise or after sunset. It has a dense atmosphere consisting primarily of carbon dioxide, which, together with its proximity to the Sun, creates an intense greenhouse effect, making it the hottest planet in the solar system with an average surface temperature of 464°C (867°F). Venus is completely shrouded by a thick layer of clouds made up mainly of droplets of sulfuric acid with other clouds of vaporous and particulate sulfur dioxide below it. Radar mapping of the Venutian surface shows rolling hills, plains, and numerous volcanoes as well as large impact craters and extensive lava flows. See Table at solar system.

venus in Culture

Venus

The Roman name of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty in classical mythology.

Note

The second planet from the sun (the Earth is third) is named Venus.

Venus

In astronomy, the second major planet from the sun, named for the Roman goddess of love. The surface of Venus is very hot and covered with clouds. Spacecraft from the former Soviet Union landed on Venus and survived long enough to send back photographs and measurements. (See solar system; see under “Mythology and Folklore.”)

Note

Venus is seen from the Earth as a bright morning or evening star — occasionally bright enough to cast a shadow.