Wiktionary

hydra

See also: hydrą, Hydra, and Hydrą

English

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green hydra (Hydra viridissima)

Etymology

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After the Hydra, from Greek mythology, which grew two new heads every time one of its heads was cut off. The biology sense alludes to the budding method of asexual reproduction that the hydra practices, similar to growing new heads. The figurative sense refers to how the creature could not be killed by a swift, decisive solution (in contrast to a Gordian knot).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hydra (plural hydras or hydrae or hydræ)

  1. (fantasy) A dragon-like creature with many heads and the ability to regrow them when maimed.
  2. (biology) Any of several small freshwater polyps of the genus Hydra and related genera, having a naked cylindrical body and an oral opening surrounded by tentacles.
  3. (figurative) A complex, multifarious problem or situation that cannot be solved easily and rapidly.
    • 2009, Kris Frieswick, Till Death Do Us Pay‎[1]:
      Because the statute is so vaguely worded, award decisions are habitually based on case law, the growing mountain of which is a hydra of rulings that point in so many directions that almost any decision can be defended or overturned on appeal, depending on how smart your lawyer is and which precedent he selects to argue your case.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Anagrams

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Czech

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Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs
 
Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

Etymology

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Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὕδρα (húdra). Doublet of vydra.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hydra f

  1. (Greek mythology, Roman mythology, singular only) Hydra, a mythological serpent with seven heads
    • 2010, Jana Eislerová, Staré řecké báje a pověsti‎[2], Fragment, →ISBN, page 21:
      Král nařizoval, aby Herakles zabil hydru, která děsila lidi a ničila kraj kolem města Lernu.
      The king ordered Herakles to kill Hydra, which had been frightening people and destroying the land around the city of Lerna.
  2. something monstrous which is extremely difficult to fight with (often connected with organized crime)
    • (Can we date this quote?), (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      Šéf Útvaru pro odhalování organizovaného zločinu Robert Šlachta popsal veřejnosti, jak vlastně vypadá kauza Nagyová, kmotři a korupčníci. Je to hluboká klientelistická hydra.
      The boss of the police unit for combating organized crime Robert Šlachta has described to the public how the case of Nagyová, godfathers and bribers appears. It is a deep clientelistic hydra.
  3. Hydra, a genus of hydrozoan in family Hydridae
    • 2017, Filip Drlík, Obsahují davy: O mikrobech v nás, kolem nás a o jejich fascinujícím vlivu na náš život‎[3], Jan Melvil, translation of original by Ed Yong, →ISBN:
      Mytologická hydra terorizovala vesničany svým jedovatým dechem a krví, přičemž skutečná hydra zabíjí perloočky a korýše pomocí žahavých buněk, z nichž vystřeluje otrávené harpuny.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

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Declension of hydra (hard feminine reducible)
singular plural
nominative hydra hydry
genitive hydry hyder
dative hydře hydrám
accusative hydru hydry
vocative hydro hydry
locative hydře hydrách
instrumental hydrou hydrami

Alternative forms

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Synonyms

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Hypernyms

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Hyponyms

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Further reading

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  • “hydra”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “hydra”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Anagrams

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Latin

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek ὕδρα (húdra).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hydra f (genitive hydrae); first declension (masculine hydrus)

  1. A water-snake.

Declension

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First-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative hydra hydrae
genitive hydrae hydrārum
dative hydrae hydrīs
accusative hydram hydrās
ablative hydrā hydrīs
vocative hydra hydrae
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References

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  • “hydra”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • hydra in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • “hydra”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎[4]
  • “hydra”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • “hydra”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl
 
hydra

Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin hydra. Doublet of nutria and wydra.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hydra f

  1. hydra (any freshwater polyp from the genus Hydra)
    Synonym: stułbia
  2. (fantasy) hydra (dragon-like creature with many heads and the ability to regrow them when maimed)
    Hypernym: stworzenie
  3. (figurative) evil that is difficult to eradicate
    Hypernym: zło

Declension

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Declension of hydra
singular plural
nominative hydra hydry
genitive hydry hydr
dative hydrze hydrom
accusative hydrę hydry
instrumental hydrą hydrami
locative hydrze hydrach
vocative hydro hydry

Further reading

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  • hydra in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • hydra in Polish dictionaries at PWN
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