Hyades

[ hahy-uh-deez ]

noun

, (used with a plural verb)

1. Astronomy. 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. Classical Mythology. a group of nymphs and sisters of the Pleiades who nurtured the infant Dionysus and were placed among the stars as a reward.

Hyades

¹

/ ˈhaɪəˌdiːz /

plural noun

1. Greek myth seven nymphs, daughters of Atlas, whom Zeus placed among the stars after death

Hyades

²

/ ˈhaɪəˌdiːz; ˈhaɪædz /

plural noun

1. an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus Compare Pleiades 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hyades¹

1350–1400; Middle English Hiades < Latin < Greek, equivalent to hý ( ein ) to rain + -ades, plural of -as -ad ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hyades¹

C16: via Latin from Greek huades, perhaps from huein to rain

Example Sentences

The far-right Hyades cluster sits next to Aldebaran, or Alpha Tauri, a star 44 times larger than the sun.

From Scientific American

Some say the nymphs were the Hyades, whom Zeus afterwards placed in the sky as stars, the stars which bring rain when they near the horizon.

From Literature

The constellation Cassiopeia glows as a sideways W. To the right of Orion in Taurus, the Hyades star cluster burns gold.

From Washington Post

What’s more, the sun would be sitting against a rich background of stars, the Hyades cluster, providing a bounty of objects with which to test Einstein’s light-bending prediction.

From Scientific American

During this eclipse, the Sun would sit in front of the Hyades, a cluster of bright stars in the constellation of Taurus.

From Nature