Argus

[ ahr-guhs ]

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a giant with 100 eyes, set to guard the heifer Io: his eyes were transferred after his death to the peacock's tail.
2. a son of Phrixus and builder of the Argo.
3. (in the Odyssey ) Odysseus' faithful dog, who recognized his master after twenty years and immediately died.
4. any observant or vigilant person; a watchful guardian.
5. (lowercase) Also ar·gus pheas·ant []. any of several brilliantly marked Malayan pheasants of the Argusianus or Rheinardia genera.

argus

¹

/ ˈɑːɡəs /

noun

1. any of various brown butterflies, esp the Scotch argus ( Erebia aethiops ) found on moorland and in forests up to a height of 2000 m

Argus

²

/ ˈɑːɡəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a giant with a hundred eyes who was made guardian of the heifer Io. After he was killed by Hermes his eyes were transferred to the peacock's tail
2. a vigilant person; guardian

Argus

1. A creature in classical mythology who had a hundred eyes. Hera set him to watch over Io, a girl who had been seduced by Zeus and then turned into a cow; with Argus on guard, Zeus could not come to rescue Io, for only some of Argus' eyes would be closed in sleep at any one time. Hermes , working on Zeus' behalf, played music that put all the eyes to sleep and then killed Argus. Hera put his eyes in the tail of the peacock.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Argus¹

< Latin < Greek Árgos, derivative of argós bright, shining

Example Sentences

Sailing from the Middle East to Europe around Africa, instead of through the Suez Canal, can add three weeks to the journey time and cost over $2m more, according to price reporting firm Argus Media.

From BBC

She got a job as the only female reporter on the Brighton Argus and began writing a music column called Spin with Me.

From BBC

The Argus newspaper reported he received backing from several trade unions to secure victory, with Izzard placing second out of four candidates.

From BBC

“This action could set them on an upward trajectory internationally, while keeping domestic prices low for Chinese battery producers,” said Tom Kavanagh, head of battery metals at commodity and energy pricing agency Argus.

From Reuters

The crowd of Washington High School students congregated Thursday morning at a nearby park to recognize thousands of missing and slain Indigenous women, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.

From Washington Times