English Explanatory Dictionary

hydra

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A dragon-like creature with many heads and the ability to regrow them when maimed.
  2. Any of several small freshwater polyps of the genus Hydra and related genera, having a naked cylindrical body and an oral opening surrounded by tentacles.
  3. A complex, multifarious problem or situation that cannot be easily and rapidly solved.
name
  1. A mythological serpent with many heads, slain by Hercules as one of his twelve labours.
  2. A spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a serpent. It lies just south of the zodiac and contains the star Alphard.
  3. One of Pluto's moons.
  4. One of the Saronic Islands in the Aegean Sea.
  5. A commune in Algiers Province, Algeria.

Pronunciation

hī'drə /ˈhaɪdɹə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hydra.wav [ˈhaɪ̯dɹə] [ˈhaɪ̯d͡ʒɹə] LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Hydra.wav

Word forms

hydra hydras hydrae hydræ

Etymology

After the Hydra, from Greek mythology, which grew two new heads every time one of its heads was cut off. The biology sense alludes to the budding method of asexual reproduction that the hydra practices, similar to growing new heads. The figurative sense refers to how the creature could not be killed by a swift, decisive solution (in contrast to a Gordian knot).

Synonyms

Lernaean Hydra Xiangliu Xiangyao Pluto II S 2005 P 1 Pluto II Hydra

Derived words

brown hydra freshwater hydra green hydra hydralike hydranth hydriform microhydra hydra Hydrae Hydrian

Translations

Albanian: shkërbadër Albanian: kuçedër Albanian: lubi Chinese Mandarin: 九頭蛇 /九头蛇 Chinese Mandarin: 海德拉 Chinese Mandarin: 許德拉 /许德拉 Chinese Mandarin: 長蛇座 /长蛇座 Czech: Hydra Czech: souhvězdí Hydry Danish: Hydra Esperanto: hidro Finnish: Hydra Finnish: Vesikäärme French: Hydre de Lerne French: Hydre Galician: Hidra Galician: Hidra Femia German: Hydra German: Wasserschlange Greek: Λερναία Ύδρα Greek: Ύδρα Ancient Greek: ὕδρα Greenlandic: Hydra Inuktitut: ᐦᐄᑦᕋ Irish: Hydra Irish: an Phéist Uisce Italian: Idra di Lerna Italian: Idra Japanese: ヒュドラー Japanese: 海蛇座 Japanese: うみへび座 Latin: hydra Latin: Anguis Marathi: हायड्रा Polish: Hydra Portuguese: Hidra de Lerna Portuguese: Hidra Russian: Лерне́йская ги́дра Russian: Ги́дра Spanish: Hidra de Lerna Spanish: Hydra Telugu: హైడ్రా Arabic: حَيَّة الْمِيَاه Kazakh: Гидра Korean: 바다뱀자리 Malay: Ular
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