Hyades

[hahy-uh-deez] /ˈhaɪ əˌdiz/

noun, (used with a plural verb)

Astronomy. a group of stars comprising a moving cluster in the constellation Taurus, supposed by the ancients to indicate the approach of rain when they rose with the sun.

Classical Mythology. a group of nymphs and sisters of the Pleiades who nurtured the infant Dionysus and were placed among the stars as a reward.

Also, Hyads

[hahy-adz] /ˈhaɪ ædz/ (Show IPA).

Origin

1350-1400; Middle English Hiades < Latin < Greek, equivalent to hý(ein) to rain + -ades, plural of -as -ad

British Dictionary definitions for Hyades

Hyades¹

/ˈhaɪəˌdiːz/

plural noun

an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus Compare Pleiades¹

Word Origin

C16: via Latin from Greek huades, perhaps from huein to rain

Hyades²

/ˈhaɪəˌdiːz/

plural noun

(Greek myth) seven nymphs, daughters of Atlas, whom Zeus placed among the stars after death

Word Origin and History for Hyades

star cluster in constellation Taurus, late 14c., from Greek Hyades, popularly explained as "rain-bringers" (from hyein "to rain"), because wet weather supposedly began coincidentally with their heliacal rising, but in fact probably from hys "swine" (the popular Latin word for them was Suculae "little pigs"). Grimm ("Teutonic Mythology") lists the Anglo-Saxon glosses of Hyades as Raedgastran, Raedgasnan, Redgaesrum.