hydra

[hahy-druh]

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

/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

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

Hydra

²

/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

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

hydra

³

/ 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

plural

hydras 

1. See under hydroid

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hydra¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hydra¹

C16: from Latin, from Greek hudra water serpent; compare _otter

Example Sentences

But what made Hydra unique was not only its monopoly but also its distribution system, which revolved around stashing gear in out-of-the-way hiding spots like a coke-dealing Easter Bunny — or Puff-Puff.

From Salon

For the next year’s “Hydra,” “we started to go all Dungeons & Dragons on everybody,” Lukather says; the result whiffed, as did 1981’s “Turn Back.”

From Los Angeles Times

The tail, however, acts like the mythological Hydra and grows two new heads, which, then, split into two separate animals.

From Science Daily

High sensitivity radio observations have discovered a cloud of magnetized plasma in the Hydra galaxy cluster.

From Science Daily

“They felt you'd have more space in the Hydra Tower with one roommate instead of three. That you'd be more comfortable.”

From Literature

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