Hyades

Hyades
/huy"euh deez'/, n. (used with a pl. v.)
1. Astron. 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.
2. Class. Myth. a group of nymphs and sisters of the Pleiades who nurtured the infant Dionysus and were placed among the stars as a reward.
Also, Hyads /huy"adz/.
[1350-1400; ME Hiades < L < Gk, equiv. to hý(ein) to rain + -ades, pl. of -AS -AD]

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Open cluster of several hundred stars in the constellation Taurus.

The bright star Aldebaran appears to be a member of the cluster but is much closer to Earth than the Hyades, which is about 130 light-years away. Five genuine members of the group are visible to the unaided eye.

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      in Greek mythology, daughters of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid Aethra, the five (or more) sisters of the Pleiades who nursed the infant wine god, Dionysus, and as a reward were made the five stars in the head of the constellation Taurus, the bull. According to another version, they so bitterly lamented the death of their brother Hyas that Zeus, out of compassion, changed them into stars. Their name means the Rainers, since they rose in October and set in April.

      cluster of several hundred stars in the zodiacal constellation Taurus. As seen from Earth, the bright star Aldebaran appears to be a member of the cluster, but in fact Aldebaran is much closer to the Earth than the Hyades' distance of about 150 light-years. Five genuine members of the group are visible to the unaided eye. Their name (Greek: “the rainy ones”) is derived from the ancient association of spring rain with the season of their heliacal (near dawn) rising.

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  • hyades — [ jad ] n. f. pl. • 1562; gr. Huades « nymphes changées en astres », de huein « pleuvoir » ♦ Astron. Ensemble des sept étoiles qui forment le front de la constellation du Taureau. ⇒HYADES, subst. fém. plur. ASTRON. Les sept étoiles qui forment le …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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  • Hyades — Hy a*des, Hyads Hy ads, n. pl. [L. Hyades, Gr. ?.] (Astron.) A cluster of five stars in the face of the constellation Taurus, supposed by the ancients to indicate the coming of rainy weather when they rose with the sun. [1913 Webster] Thro… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hyades — n. (Greek mythology) The seven daughters of Atlas and half sisters of the Pleiades; they nurtured the infant Dionysus and Zeus placed them among the stars as a reward. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • HYADES — stellae 7. in capite Tauri, quae quoties nascuntur, vel occidunt, pluvias creant, unde et nomen accepêrunt, ἀπὸ τȏυ ὕειν, quod est pluere. Ovid. Fast. l. 5. v. 165. Ora micant tauri septem radiantia flammis Navita quas Hyadas Graius ab imbre… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Hyades — star cluster in constellation Taurus, late 14c., from Gk. 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 …   Etymology dictionary

  • Hyades — [hī′ə dēz΄] pl.n. [L Hyades < Gr] 1. Gr. Myth. daughters of Atlas, placed in the sky by Zeus: as stars they were thought to be bringers of rain 2. [often with sing. v.] Astron. an open cluster of more than 200 stars in the constellation Taurus …   English World dictionary

  • Hyades — HYĂDES, um, Gr. Ὑάδες, ων, (⇒ Tab. VIII.) 1 §. Namen. Diesen haben sie, nach einigen, von ihrem Vater, dem Hyas, Alexander ap. Hygin. Astron. Poet. l. II. c. 21. nach andern, von ihrem Bruder gleiches Namens; nach den den dritten, von dem… …   Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon

  • HYADES — s. f. pl. T. d Astron. Assemblage d étoiles placées sur le front du Taureau céleste. Les anciens croyaient que le lever et le coucher des Hyades étaient toujours accompagnés de pluie.   En Poésie : Les sombres, les tristes Hyades. Les froides,… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • hyades — (i a d ) s. f. pl. 1°   Terme de mythologie. Filles d Atlas qui pleurèrent tant leur frère Hyas, que Jupiter les transporta au ciel et les changea en astres. 2°   Terme d astronomie. Constellation de sept étoiles à la tête du Taureau et dont les… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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