Venus

Venus
    n 1: the second nearest planet to the sun; it is peculiar in
         that its rotation is slow and retrograde (in the opposite
         sense of the Earth and all other planets except Uranus); it
         is visible from Earth as an early `morning star' or an
         `evening star'; "before it was known that they were the
         same object the evening star was called Venus and the
         morning star was called Lucifer"
    2: goddess of love; counterpart of Greek Aphrodite [syn:
       {Venus}, {Urania}]
    3: type genus of the family Veneridae: genus of edible clams
       with thick oval shells [syn: {Venus}, {genus Venus}]
    

Venus \Ve"nus\ (v[=e]"n[u^]s), n. [L. Venus, -eris, the goddess
   of love, the planet Venus.]
   1. (Class. Myth.) The goddess of beauty and love, that is,
      beauty or love deified.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Anat.) One of the planets, the second in order from the
      sun, its orbit lying between that of Mercury and that of
      the Earth, at a mean distance from the sun of about
      67,000,000 miles. Its diameter is 7,700 miles, and its
      sidereal period 224.7 days. As the morning star, it was
      called by the ancients {Lucifer}; as the evening star,
      {Hesperus}.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Alchem.) The metal copper; -- probably so designated from
      the ancient use of the metal in making mirrors, a mirror
      being still the astronomical symbol of the planet Venus.
      [Archaic]
      [1913 Webster]

   4. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of marine bivalve
      shells of the genus {Venus} or family {Veneridae}. Many of
      these shells are large, and ornamented with beautiful
      frills; others are smooth, glossy, and handsomely colored.
      Some of the larger species, as the round clam, or quahog,
      are valued for food.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Venus's basin} (Bot.), the wild teasel; -- so called because
      the connate leaf bases form a kind of receptacle for
      water, which was formerly gathered for use in the toilet.
      Also called {Venus's bath}.

   {Venus's basket} (Zool.), an elegant, cornucopia-shaped,
      hexactinellid sponge ({Euplectella speciosa}) native of
      the East Indies. It consists of glassy, transparent,
      siliceous fibers interwoven and soldered together so as to
      form a firm network, and has long, slender, divergent
      anchoring fibers at the base by means of which it stands
      erect in the soft mud at the bottom of the sea. Called
      also {Venus's flower basket}, and {Venus's purse}.

   {Venus's comb}.
      (a) (Bot.) Same as {Lady's comb}.
      (b) (Zool.) A species of {Murex} ({Murex tenuispinus}). It
          has a long, tubular canal, with a row of long, slender
          spines along both of its borders, and rows of similar
          spines covering the body of the shell. Called also
          {Venus's shell}.

   {Venus's fan} (Zool.), a common reticulated, fanshaped
      gorgonia ({Gorgonia flabellum}) native of Florida and the
      West Indies. When fresh the color is purple or yellow, or
      a mixture of the two.

   {Venus's flytrap}. (Bot.) See {Flytrap}, 2.

   {Venus's girdle} (Zool.), a long, flat, ribbonlike, very
      delicate, transparent and iridescent ctenophore ({Cestum
      Veneris}) which swims in the open sea. Its form is due to
      the enormous development of two spheromeres. See Illust.
      in Appendix.

   {Venus's hair} (Bot.), a delicate and graceful fern
      ({Adiantum Capillus-Veneris}) having a slender, black and
      shining stem and branches.

   {Venus's hair stone} (Min.), quartz penetrated by acicular
      crystals of rutile.

   {Venus's looking-glass} (Bot.), an annual plant of the genus
      {Specularia} allied to the bellflower; -- also called
      {lady's looking-glass}.

   {Venus's navelwort} (Bot.), any one of several species of
      {Omphalodes}, low boraginaceous herbs with small blue or
      white flowers.

   {Venus's pride} (Bot.), an old name for Quaker ladies. See
      under {Quaker}.

   {Venus's purse}. (Zool.) Same as {Venus's basket}, above.

   {Venus's shell}. (Zool.)
      (a) Any species of Cypraea; a cowrie.
      (b) Same as {Venus's comb}, above.
      (c) Same as {Venus}, 4.

   {Venus's slipper}.
      (a) (Bot.) Any plant of the genus {Cypripedium}. See
          {Lady's slipper}.
      (b) (Zool.) Any heteropod shell of the genus {Carinaria}.
          See {Carinaria}.
          [1913 Webster]
          [1913 Webster]
    

Venus, FL
  Zip code(s): 33960
Venus, PA
  Zip code(s): 16364
Venus, TX (town, FIPS 75236)
  Location: 32.42745 N, 97.10459 W
  Population (1990): 977 (219 housing units)
  Area: 4.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 76084
    

Venus, TX -- U.S. town in Texas
   Population (2000):    910
   Housing Units (2000): 344
   Land area (2000):     2.282783 sq. miles (5.912381 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    2.282783 sq. miles (5.912381 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            75236
   Located within:       Texas (TX), FIPS 48
   Location:             32.429383 N, 97.107022 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     76084
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Venus, TX
    Venus
    

124 Moby Thesaurus words for "Venus":
      Adonis, Agdistis, Aldebaran, Amor, Aphrodite, Apollo,
      Apollo Belvedere, Apollon, Ares, Artemis, Astarte, Ate, Athena,
      Bacchus, Balder, Canicula, Ceres, Cleopatra, Cora, Cronus, Cupid,
      Cybele, Demeter, Despoina, Diana, Dionysus, Dis, Dog Star, Earth,
      Eros, Freya, Gaea, Gaia, Ge, Great Mother, Hades, Hebe, Helios,
      Hephaestus, Hera, Here, Hermes, Hesper, Hesperus, Hestia, Hymen,
      Hyperion, Jove, Juno, Jupiter, Jupiter Fidius, Jupiter Fulgur,
      Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Jupiter Pluvius, Jupiter Tonans, Kama,
      Kore, Kronos, Love, Lucifer, Magna Mater, Mars, Mercury, Minerva,
      Mithras, Momus, Narcissus, Neptune, Nike, North Star, Olympians,
      Olympic gods, Ops, Orcus, Persephassa, Persephone, Phoebus,
      Phoebus Apollo, Phosphor, Phosphorus, Pluto, Polaris, Poseidon,
      Proserpina, Proserpine, Rhea, Saturn, Sirius, Tellus, Uranus,
      Venus de Milo, Vesper, Vesta, Vulcan, Zeus, asteroid,
      celestial body, comet, daystar, evening star, fixed stars,
      heavenly body, houri, inferior planet, living sapphires, lodestar,
      major planet, minor planet, morning star, orb, peri, planet,
      planetoid, polar star, polestar, secondary planet, solar system,
      sphere, starry host, stars, superior planet, terrestrial planet,
      the Graces, wanderer

    

VENUS

a dream of a girl who lived long ago, posed for her
statue, and had to die after everybody fell in love with her.
Was born and painted at sea.  Married at an early age.  Was a
regular heart breaker.  V. had an affair with one Adonis, and
later with Vulcan.  Not much is known of her old-ladyhood, as
she refused to pose for statues when advanced in years.
Ambition:  Parisian gowns, the love of the gods.  Recreation:
Love.  Address:  The Louvre, Paris. The Uffizi Gallery,
Florence.  Clubs:  She was too good looking to be a
suffragette.