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Hydra definition

Hy·dra (drə)

noun pl. Hydras -·dras or Hydrae -·drae′ (-drē′)

  1. Gr. Myth. the nine-headed serpent slain by Hercules as one of his twelve labors: when any one of its heads is cut off, it is replaced by two others
  2. a long S constellation between Cancer and Libra: the largest constellation
  3. any persistent or ever-increasing evil with many sources and causes
  4. any of a family (Hydridae) of small, freshwater, solitary hydroids having a dominant soft-bodied polyp stage

Etymology: ME ydre (< OFr < L), ydra < L Hydra < Gr, water serpent, akin to hydōr, water

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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