hydra

American  

[hahy-druh] / ˈhaɪ drə /

noun

plural

hydras, hydrae,

genitive

Hydrae

1. Classical Mythology. Often Hydra a water or marsh serpent with nine heads, each of which, if cut off, grew back as two; Hercules killed this serpent by cauterizing the necks as he cut off the heads.

2. any freshwater polyp of the genus Hydra and related genera, having a cylindrical body with a ring of tentacles surrounding the mouth, and usually living attached to rocks, plants, etc., but also capable of detaching and floating in the water.

3. a persistent or many-sided problem that presents new obstacles as soon as one aspect is solved.

4. (initial capital letter) the Sea Serpent, a large southern constellation extending through 90° of the sky, being the longest of all constellations.

---

Hydra ¹ British  

/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

1. Greek myth a monster with nine heads, each of which, when struck off, was replaced by two new ones

---

Hydra ² British  

/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

1. a very long faint constellation lying mainly in the S hemisphere and extending from near Virgo to Cancer

---

hydra ³ British  

/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

1. any solitary freshwater hydroid coelenterate of the genus Hydra, in which the body is a slender polyp with tentacles around the mouth

2. a persistent trouble or evil

   the hydra of the Irish problem

---

hydra Scientific  

/ hī′drə /

plural

hydras

1. See under hydroid

---

Etymology

Origin of hydra

First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin hydra, from Greek hýdrā “water serpent” (replacing Middle English ydre, from Middle French, from Latin); otter

Related Words

• contagion
• curse
• epidemic
• infection
• infestation
• influenza
• invasion
• outbreak
• pandemic
• scourge