▪ I. Venus1
(ˈviːnəs)
Pl. Venuses (7, 9 Veneres). Also 5–6 Sc. Wenus.
[L. Venus (gen. Veneris).]
I. 1. a. Mythol. The ancient Roman goddess of beauty and love (esp. sensual love), or the corresponding Greek goddess Aphrodite.
| a 1000 Sal. & Sat. (Kemble) 124 Ðone syxtan dæᵹ hi ᵹesetton ðære sceamleasan gydenan Uenus ᵹehaten, and Frycg on Denisc. 1297 R. Glouc. Chron. (Rolls) 2433 After him [Jupiter] we honoureþ venus mest, þat frie ycluped is. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 604 So faire ladies ar none lyuand; Bot me þynkes of ȝow þre Dame Venus semes fairest to be. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 84 The Coper set is to Venus, And to his part Mercurius. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 3443 In honour only of Venus, þe goddes, Whom þe Grekis with al her besynes Honoured most of euery maner age. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xiv. 50 Certes, Venus, thou and thy sone Cupydo are gretely to be praysed. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 21 The birdis sang..With curiouse note, as Venus chapell clerkis. 1590 Marlowe 2nd Pt. Tamburl. iv. ii, Thou shalt..Sit like to Venus in her chaire of state, Commanding all thy princely eie desires. 1687 Dryden Hind & P. iii. 1064 As if this troublesome intruding Guest Would drive the Birds of Venus [= doves] from their Nest. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 824 Certain feasts..Where Venus hears the lover's tender vow. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. 141 The temple of Venus at Eryx, which was most probably founded by Phœnicians. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 172/2 The native Roman goddess Venus, as distinguished from the Venus who through contact with the Greeks was afterwards identified with Aphrodite. |
b. In allusive use: (
cf. sense 2).
| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3890 Þere wole he outen his langage, And do to Bachus and Venus homage. c 1508 C. Blowbol's Test. 62 in Hazlitt E.P.P. I. 94 He gaf me many a good certacion..That he had laboured in Venus secret celle. 1693 tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2) s.v. Maslach, Sometimes they take Three Drams, without any prejudice, especially when they are about to Fight the Battels of Mars or Venus. a 1796 Burns Lines Windows Globe Tavern, Dumfries, In wars at hame I'll spend my blood, Life-giving wars of Venus. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iv. vii. ¶8 He could not stomach those beauties who call a spade a spade. Such were not for his market; the rites of Venus must be consummated in the temple of Vesta. |
c. A representation,
esp. a statue or image, of Venus.
| a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. ii. Wks. (1904) 301 Cæsar..is like the halfe face of a Venus, the other part of the head beyng hidden, the bodie and the rest of the members vnbegon. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 566 But of all the images that ever were made,..his [sc. Praxiteles] Venus passeth, which hee wrought for them of Gnidos. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 23 May 1645, 'Twixt the pictures two naked Venus's by Titian. Ibid., A Venus of marble, veiled from the middle to the feete. 1722 Richardson Statues etc. in Italy 134 There is a Venus which stands just by This which is Irreproachable. 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 157/2 Many representations of the goddess [Aphrodite]..are extant: among these, the celebrated statue, called the Venus de' Medici, is that with which we are most familiarized. 1850 Thackeray Pendennis lii, The wig-box beside the Venus upon the middle shelf of the book-case. |
d. A local or other distinct conception of the goddess; also
transf., a goddess in other mythologies corresponding to Venus.
| 1770 Percy tr. Mallet's Northern Antiq. I. 94 This Frea became in the sequel..the Venus of the north, doubtless because she passed for the principle of all fecundity. 1828 Duppa Trav. Italy, etc. 136 He also shewed us a little bronze statue of a Venus. 1877 W. R. Cooper Egypt. Obelisks vii. (1878) 30 Under the special protection of Hathor, the Egyptian Venus. |
e. Archæol. A palæolithic female figurine distinguished by exaggerated breasts, belly, and buttocks.
Cf. steatopyga.
| 1912 R. Munro Palæolithic Man x. 239 Laugerie Basse has supplied a fragment of bone with a pregnant woman and reindeer engraved on it..; the Venus..a headless statuette carved in ivory. 1920 H. C. Bailey Call Mr. Fortune 191 ‘My new palæolithic Venus.’ ‘You left her in the library... There are not many men..who have a Hottentot Venus to lose.’ 1937 Auden & MacNeice Lett. from Iceland xvii. 245 We leave to that poor soul A. M. Ludovici the Venus of Willendorf. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Apr. 198/4 One archaeologist's interpretation of palaeolithic figurines or ‘Venuses’ as ‘the characteristic products of unregenerated male imagination’. 1979 Mills & Mansfield Genuine Article ii. 34 The Venus figurine[s]..date from around 25,000 to 22,000 B.C... One of the most celebrated is the ‘Venus of Willendorf’ from Austria. |
† 2. The desire for sexual intercourse; indulgence of sexual desire; lust, venery.
Obs.| 1513 Douglas æneid iv. Prol. 97 Childir to engener ois Venus, and nocht in vane. 1573 L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 253 Sardanapalus..was alwaies werid but never satisfied with Venus. 1620 Venner Via Recta iii. 61 It yeeldeth very good nourishment, which..encreaseth seede, and exciteth Venus. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 289 What's more strange, their modest Appetites, Averse from Venus, fly the Nuptial Rites. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. xviii. 43 If Venus be his darling Vice. 1746 ― Sat. i. iv. 148 An honest Venus will indulge your Flame. |
† 3. a. A quality or characteristic that excites love; a charm, grace, or attractive feature.
Obs.| 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus L iv b, Here dwell Venusis and graces of al kynd. 1607 Middleton Five Gallants i. i, A pretie, fat eyde wench, with a Venus in her cheeke. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iv. vi, All the Graces, Veneres, pleasures, elegances attend him. 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal 236 Know'st not how many Venuses appear In others gold? 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 138 Every⁓one is a virtuoso, of a higher or lower degree: every-one pursues a Grace, and courts a Venus of one kind or another. Ibid. 337 If he knows not this Venus, these Graces [etc.]. |
† b. Beauty; charm.
Obs. rare.
| 1657 G. Thornley Daphnis & Chloe 181 The Garden;..the place now made a waste;..all the Venus of the place was gone. 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 337 To discover, amidst the many false manners and ill stiles, the true and natural one, which represents the real beauty and Venus of the kind. Ibid., 'Tis the like moral Grace, and Venus, which..is copy'd by the writing artist. |
4. A beautiful or attractive woman.
| a 1579 T. Hacket tr. Amadis of Fr. viii. 188 (Stf.), One day ye reputed me for a Venus, that rested..in your heart. 1675 J. Smith Chr. Relig. App. iii. 8 The great Beauty of the Land, an Helen, a Venus. 1706–7 Farquhar Beaux Strat. iv. ii, Had my Spark call'd me a Venus directly, I shou'd have believ'd him a Footman in good earnest. a 1814 Woman's Will ii. i. in New Brit. Theatre IV. 62 Witness the Hottentot Venus before she has strung on her beads. 1816 Tuckey Narr. Exped. R. Zaire i. (1818) 18 The dreams they had indulged in of the sable Venuses which they were to find on the banks of the Congo. a 1841 T. Hook Ned Musgrave i, The evening on which he first saw this Venus of the village. |
II. 5. Astr. The second planet in order of distance from the sun, revolving in an orbit between those of Mercury and the earth; the morning or evening star.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 311 Sethþe þe sonne is, Venus sethþe, þe clere steorre. 1297 R. Glouc. Chron. (Rolls) 4704 To tueye sterren, þat me sucþ ylome, Venus & Mercurius, hii weneþ þat hii bicome. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 1016 The bryght venus folwede and ay taughte The wey, ther brode Phebus down alighte. c 1400 Treat. Astron. 8 b (MS. Bodl. B. 17), The secunde owre of þe same day is the owre of þe planet Venus. c 1480 Henryson Test. Cres. 11 Fair Venus, the bewtie of the nicht, Uprais. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 107 Let her shine as gloriously As the Venus of the sky. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 530 Venus you retriv'd, In opposition with Mars, And no benigne friendly Stars T' allay th' effect. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 1695 Sudden to heaven Thence weary vision turns; where..with purestray Sweet Venus shines. 1771 Encycl. Brit. I. 436/2 When Venus appears west of the sun, she rises before him in the morning, and is called the morning-star; when she appears east of the sun, she shines in the evening after he sets, and is then called the evening-star. 1842 Francis Dict. Arts s.v., Venus changes her phases like those of the moon, according to her position, relative to the earth and sun. 1868 Lockyer Guillemin's Heavens (ed. 3) 81 Thus the solid ground of Venus is uneven, like that of Mercury and the Earth. |
† 6. Alch. Copper. (In
quot. 1797 allusively.)
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 276 Sol gold is,..and Jubiter is tyn, And Venus coper, by my fader kyn. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. i. 20 The Alcumists giue a blauncher vnto Venus with the salt of Tartar. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. ii. i, The great med'cine! Of which one part proiected on a hundred Of Mercurie, or Venus, or the Moone, Shall turne it to as many of the Sunne. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Copper, The Chymists call it Venus; as supposing it to have some more immediate Relation to that Planet. 1758 [see Jupiter 2 b]. 1797 W. Johnston tr. Beckmann's Invent. I. 398 One may justly doubt whether, at present, Mars, Venus, or Saturn, is most destructive to the human race. |
† b. So in
crystals,
saffron,
salt,
vinegar,
vitriol of Venus (see
quots.).
Obs.| 1693 Phil. Trans. XVII. 901 This very elaborate method of procuring the Salt of Venus. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Vitriol of Copper or Venus is Blue Chrystals made by a Solution of Copper in Spirit of Nitre, Evaporation, and Chrystallization in a cool place. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Copper, The Calx of Brass, called..sometimes..Saffron of Venus, is nothing but Copper calcin'd in a violent Fire. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVI. 623 The acetous salt of copper, called crystals of Venus, or of verdigris, by the chemists. 1807 T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 259 When acetate of copper, reduced to powder, is put into a retort and distilled, there comes over a liquid..and afterwards a highly concentrated acid... The acid..was formerly distinguished by the names of radical vinegar and vinegar of Venus. |
† 7. Her. A name for the tincture green or vert when the names of planets are used in blazonry.
| [1562 Legh Armory 16, I pray you what planet belongeth to this colour [sc. vert]? Venus.] 1572 J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 78 b, The fielde is parted per Fesse Dented, Venus, and Saturne, five brasauntes. 1680 Sir G. Mackenzie Her. 18–19. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Vert, the Heralds Word for a Green Colour;..in Coats of Nobles, 'tis called Emerauld; and in those of Kings 'tis called Venus. |
8. The highest or most favourable cast or throw in playing with huckle-bones.
| 1611 Cotgr. s.v., The play at huckle-bones, wherein he that turns vp Venus (figured on one side of the bone) doth winne; whereas he that turnes vp the dog, doth lose. c 1650 in MS. Ashmole 788 fol. 162 The game of Astragalls... When all y⊇ fower boanes shal shew seuerall sides this is the most fortunate cast & is called Midas or Venus take all Cock-all. 1737 Ozell Rabelais III. p. xvi, Venus was the best Cast, three Sices. [1876 Browning At the ‘Mermaid’ xv, Well may you blaspheme at fortune! I ‘threw Venus’ (Ben, expound!).] |
9. girdle,
mound,
mount,
ring of Venus, in palmistry (see
quots.); also
mount of Venus, in anatomy (see
quot. 1728).
Cf. Venus girdle (1653) in 12 below.
| 1695 Congreve Love for L. ii. iii, She has..a moist Palm, and an open Liberality on the Mount of Venus. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Mount of Venus, Mons Veneris, among Anatomists, is a little hairy Protuberance, in the middle of the Pubes of Women. Ibid., Among Chiromancers, the Mount of Venus is a little Eminence in the Palm of the Hand, at the Root of one of the Fingers. 1865 R. Beamish Psychon. Hand 31 The line of Saturn, the ring of Venus, and the line of Apollo. 1894 Paul Bello Palmistry 21 The Girdle of Venus is a line describing a semicircle, extending from between the Mounts of Jupiter and Saturn to the Mount of Mercury. This girdle is generally absent. 1900 Ina Oxenford Mod. Palmistry 22 The Mount of Venus encircles the root of the thumb, and is bounded more or less by the Life-line. |
10. Zool. A genus of bivalve molluscs typically representing the family
Veneridæ; a member of this genus or family; a venerid.
Cf. clam n.2 1 d.
| 1770 Pennant Brit. Zool. (1777) IV. [p. xiv], Commercial Venus [and various other species]. Ibid. 93. 1802–3 tr. Pallas's Trav. (1812) II. 293 A ribbed Venus, rounded at one extremity. 1857 Gosse Omphalos viii. 228 That lilac-tinted Prickly Venus (Dione Veneris). 1880 Bastian Brain 75 The Razor-fish, Cockle, Venus, and other bivalves possessing..‘siphon-tubes’. |
| β pl. 1770 Pennant Brit. Zool. (1777) IV. 89 Tellina rugosa... Dredged up at Weymouth. Misplaced among the Venuses. 1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 257 That these supposed fresh-water shells are sometimes found scattered among a multitude of acknowledged sea shells, as, Oysters, Venus's, &c. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVI. 209/2 In the Veneres the animal, furnished with longer siphons, is provided with a retractor muscle. |
III. attrib. and
Comb. 11. a. Simple
attrib. (also possessive without
's), as
Venus bower,
Venus court,
Venus knot,
† Venus mole,
† Venus star,
Venus throw, etc.
| c 1550 Rolland Crt. Venus i. 90 In *Venus Bowr to eik baith game and glew. |
| 1513 Douglas æneid iv. Prol. 159 Lat ws in riot leif, in sport and gam, In *Venus court. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 108 If [she is] one of Venus court, they haue vowed dishonestye. |
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 171, I sweare to thee,..By the simplicitie of *Venus Doues. |
| 1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta (1877) 35 Her hair fastened in a sort of *Venus knot behind. |
| 1620 Swetnam Arraigned (1880) 45 By Art they know..how to adde A *Venus mole on euery wanton cheeke. |
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. vi. 5 O ten times faster *Venus Pidgions flye To steale loues bonds new made. |
| 1902 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 321 Helen, by reason of the *Venus-spell,..loves Paris. |
| 1591 Spenser Daphn. 483 And night without a *Venus starre is found. 1611 Florio, Venere,..the day or morning star, called Lucifer or Venus star. |
| a 1593 Marlowe & Nashe Dido 39 *Venus swannes shall shed their siluer downe, To sweeten out the slumbers of thy bed. |
| 1879 Lewis & Short Lat. Dict., Venereus, the *Venus-throw at dice. |
b. In sense 2, as
Venus act,
Venus exercise,
Venus life,
Venus play,
Venus work, etc.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 753 Þai solast hom samyn..With venus werkes, þat hom well pleasid. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 399 He that wantes riches, And valȝeandnes in Venus play, is ful vile haldin. 1513 Douglas æneid iv. Prol. 187 With Venus henvifis quhat wyse may I flite? a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 158 That licherie and wenus lyfe hes oft tymes a euill end. 1611 Florio, Venereo,..given to Venus-sports, or letchery. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 166 Most of them when they were stripped, were seene to have scarres of Venus warfare. 1623 Cockeram i, Venus-escuage, wanton fleshlinesse. Ibid. iii, Barnacle, a kinde of Sea Gull, it growes not by Venus act, but as Dubartas writes [etc.]. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 151 Opium..makes them strong and long in Venus exercises. 1658 Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 1004 Unless there had been plenty of milk at hand, this Venus bird had died and suffered deservedly for his Lechery. 1786 Burns A Dream xiii, A glorious Galley,..Weel rigg'd for Venus barter. 1821 W. Liddle Poems 26 Your venus jobs now's a' kend thro' The Loudins braid. |
c. In sense 10.
| 1816 Tuckey Narr. Exped. R. Zaire ii. (1818) 58 Fragments of shells of the cockle and venus genera. 1861 P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 1860, 256 The Venus-tribe may be regarded as the types of the Lamellibranchs. |
12. a. Special combs. (of the possessive, with or without
's):
Venus † gem,
† girdle,
† hair,
Venus's hair-stone,
pencil (see
quots.).
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 621 Such Amethysts as these..; many give them the name of Venus gems, for the great grace that they have..both in fashion and colour. Ibid. 629 The stone called Venus haire, is exceeding blacke and shining; howbeit it maketh a shew of red haires sprinckled among. 1653 R. Sanders Physiogn. 49 Venus Girdle is a Semicircle that begins between the fore-finger and the middle finger, and ends between the fourth finger and the little one. 1884 Imp. Dict. IV, Venus's hair-stones, Venus's pencils, fanciful names applied to rock crystals inclosing slender hair-like or needle-like crystals of horn⁓blende, asbestos, oxide of iron, rutile, oxide of manganese, &c. |
b. Bot. Venus's basin,
bath, the wild teasel,
Dipsacus sylvestris;
Venus's comb, the shepherd's needle,
Scandix Pecten-Veneris;
Venus's cup, Venus's basin;
Venus's flytrap, the North American marsh-plant
Dionæa muscipula;
† Venus' garden = Venus's navelwort (
a);
† Venus' glass, Venus's looking-glass;
Venus golden apple (see
quot.);
Venus' hair, the maiden-hair,
Adiantum Capillus-Veneris (see also
quot. c 1711);
† Venus' laver, Venus's basin;
Venus('s) looking-glass, one or other of certain plants belonging to the genus
Specularia,
esp. S. (or
Campanula)
Speculum (
† Speculum Veneris);
Venus' navel = next (
a);
Venus's navelwort, (
a) the pennywort,
Cotyledon Umbilicus; (
b) one or other species of annual plants belonging to the genus
Omphalodes,
esp. O. linifolia;
† Venus needle, Venus's comb;
Venus-pear, a variety of pear mentioned by Pliny and Columella;
Venus's pride U.S. (see
quot.);
Venus's slipper, the lady's slipper,
Cypripedium Calceolus.
| 1551 Turner Herbal i. O iv b, Dipsacos, called in latin labrum veneris: that is *venus basin, because it holdeth alwayes water. 1578 [see below]. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cccclxxi. 1006 Teasell is called..Carde Teasell, and Venus Bason. 1671 Skinner, Venus-bason, Dipsacus vulgaris. 1763 Stukeley Palæogr. Sacra 25 Ladys fingers, ladys traces, ladys linnen, Venus glass, Venus bason,..etc. 1863 Prior Plant-n., Venus Bason, Veneris labrum, so named..from the hollows formed by the united bases of the leaves being usually filled with water, that was used..to remove warts and freckles. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens 522 Called in..Englishe, Fullers Teasel, Carde Thistell, and *Venus bath or Bason. 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. III. 169 Wild Teazel..is still often called Venus's Bath. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1208/1 Venus' bath, Dipsacus sylvestris: so named from water collecting in the connate bases of the opposite leaves. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cccc. 884 Pecten Veneris, siue Scandix, Shepheards Needle, or *Venus combe. 1671 Skinner, Venus-Comb. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., Scandyx, venus comb... The flower is of the rosaceous kind, consisting of several petals, which are arranged in a circular order on a cup. 1785 Martyn Lett. Bot. xvii. (1794) 238 Venus's-comb is remarkable for long processes or beaks terminating the seeds. 1863 Prior Plant-n., Venus' Comb, from the slender tapering beaks of the seed-vessels being set together like the teeth of a comb. |
| 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. III. 69 Wild Teazel..is still often called..*Venus's Cup. |
| 1775 Ann. Reg. ii. 93 A Description of a newly discovered Sensitive Plant, called Dionæa Muscipula, or *Venus's Fly-trap. 1857 A. Gray First Less. Bot. (1866) 171 The Venus's Fly-trap..growing where it is always sure of all the food a plant can need. 1867 H. Macmillan Bible Teach. vii. (1870) 148 The leaf of the Venus' fly-trap of North America, closing together on its prey by turning on its mid-rib as on a hinge. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cxliii. 424 Nauelwort is called..of some Hortus Veneris, or *Venus garden. 1611 Cotgr., Nombril de Venus,..Wall Penniwort, Venus garden, Hipwort. |
| 1728 Bradley Dict. Bot. II. s.v., *Venus Glass,..Speculum veneris sive Viola Pentagona. 1763 [see Venus basin]. |
| 1888 Nicholson's Dict. Gard. IV, *Venus' Golden Apple, a common name for Atalantia monophylla. |
| 1548 Turner Names Herbes (E.D.S.) 9 *Venus heir is in a meane tempre betwene hote & colde. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 409 Venus heare groweth in walles, and in stony shadowy places. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 450 Leaves, of venus-haire, and lungwort. c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. vi. liv, Round leaved Malabar Venus-hair... Its large notch'd Leaves on single Stalks, distinguish it from others. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade s.v., Venus'-hair, the Adiantum capillus-Veneris, given as an expectorant, and forming the basis of the celebrated syrup of capillaire. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 376 The little grub or worme which is found in the hearbe Tazill, called *Venus Laver. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. civ. 356 Speculum Veneris, *Venus Looking glasse..groweth in ploughed fields among the corne. 1681 Grew Musæum ii. iii. iii. 234 The Seed of Venus Looking-Glass. a 1689 A. Behn tr. Cowley's Plants C.'s Wks. 1711 III. 372 But say Corn-Violet, why thou dost claim Of Venus Looking-Glass the pompous Name. 1785 Martyn Lett. Bot. xvi. (1794) 189 Venus's Looking-glass is a Campanula, with a weak, low, and very branching stalk. 1863 Prior Plant-n., Venus' Looking-Glass, from the resemblance of its flowers set upon their cylindrical ovary to an ancient round mirror at the end of a straight handle. |
| 1592 R. D. Hypnerotomachia 24 b, With other murall and wall weeds comming out of the chinkes as..*Venus Navill. 1625 B. Jonson Pan's Annivers. Wks. (Rtldg.) 643/1 Bring..Bright crown imperial, kingspear, holyhocks, Sweet Venus-navel. |
| 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), *Venus Navelwort,..a Plant of Venus, esteemed of great use;..otherwise called Wall Penywort, and Kidneywort. 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Omphalodes, Low Vernal Venus Navel-wort, with a Comfry-leaf, or Lesser Borage. 1767 Abercrombie Ev. Man his own Gardener (1803) 104 Hardy Annual Flower-seeds:..Lobel's catch-fly, Venus' navel-wort, dwarf poppy. 1866 Treas. Bot. 812/1 Omphalodes;..several species are grown in English gardens, under the name of Venus's Navelwort. 1882 Garden 10 June 411/3 Small bouquets of pink Brier Roses with Venus's Navelwort. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cccc. 884 Scandix,..Venus Coombe, or *Venus Needle. |
| 1648 Hexham ii. App., Venus-peere, a *Venus-peere. 1879 Lewis & Short Lat. Dict., Venerea pira, a kind of pear, Venus-pear. |
| 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. 143 The Houstonia cærulea..is known by different common names; as Innocence, *Venus's Pride, and Blue Houstonia. |
| 1785 Martyn Lett. Bot. xxvii. (1794) 423 It has more resemblance to a wooden shoe in form, and therefore is unworthy the title of *Venus's Slipper, which Linnæus has bestowed upon it. |
c. Zool. Venus-basket, Venus's flower-basket;
Venus('s) comb,
Venus's cup (see
quots.);
Venus's ear, a sea-ear or ear-shell;
Venus's fan, a sea-fan,
esp. Rhipodogorgia (
Gorgonia)
flabellum;
Venus's flower-basket, a glass-sponge of the genus
Euplectella,
esp. E. aspergillum;
Venus's girdle (see
quots.);
† Venus purr (see
quot. and
purr n.2);
Venus' purse, Venus's flower-basket (
Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895);
Venus-shell, a bivalve mollusc belonging to the family
Veneridæ or related species; a venus, murex, or cowry;
Venus's slipper (see
quot.);
† Venus-winkle (see
quots. and
cf. porcelain 3).
| 1882 Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 318 In some the form is constant and characteristic, as in the fairy-like *Venus-basket (Euplectella). |
| 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 54/2 Murex Tribulus, Linn... This is the *Venus's Comb of collectors, and when perfect is a most delicate and striking shell. 1864 Chambers's Encycl. VI. 616/2 The Venus Comb of the Indian seas is..a very..beautiful shell, with many long thin spines. |
| 1885 A. Brassey The Trades 312 There were..grey sponges, sometimes called *Venus's cups,—in shape not unlike coral Neptune's cups. |
| 1859 H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xxxiv, They fell to gathering shells..like children,..Trochuses,..and ‘*Venus-ears’, scarlet outside. 1880 I. L. Bird Japan II. 87 One urn and a large covered bowl are beautifully inlaid with Venus' ear. |
| 1855 Kingsley Glaucus 33 The great stony *Venus's fan which hangs in seamen's cottages, brought home from the West Indies. 1860 Worcester (citing Baird), Venus's Fan,..the common name of much branched and reticulated polypes of the family Gorgoniæ. |
| 1872 Good Words 703 One of the most beautiful of all natural productions, the Euplectella, or ‘*Venus's Flower-basket’. 1896 tr. Boas' Text Bk. Zool. 121 The beautiful Philippine Venus's Flower-Basket (Euplectella aspergillum), which like several of its allies, lives at considerable depths. |
| 1870 Nicholson Man. Zool. xvi. I. 114 In Cestum, or *Venus' Girdle, ‘elongation takes place to an extraordinary extent’. 1896 tr. Boas' Text Bk. Zool. 118 Cestus veneris (Venus's girdle), with body much compressed and elongated to a ligamentous form. |
| 1713 Petiver Aquat. Anim. Amboinæ Tab. 18/12 Purra Venerea,..White *Venus Pur. |
| 1589 Rider Bibl. Schol. 1723 A sea snaile, or *Venus shell, cochlea Veneris. 1615 tr. De Montfart's Surv. E. Indies 31 Their Venus-shells consist of certaine kind of earth or clay which hath remaind a 100 yeares in one place. 1666 J. Davies tr. Rochefort's Caribby Isles 121 The Venus-shells may justly be numbred among the rarest productions of the Sea. 1681 Grew Musæum i. vi. i. 137 Venus-Shell. Concha Veneris. Because beautiful. 1872 A. Domett Ranolf vi. ii. 112 Exact as roseate streak for streak Some opened Venus-shell displays. |
| 1836 Penny Cycl. VI. 294/1 The shells of this genus [sc. Carinaria] were formerly known to collectors under the name of ‘*Venus's Slipper’ and ‘Glass Nautilus’. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 253 The Porcellanes or *Venus Winkles swimme above the water, and with their concavitie and hollow part which they set into the weather, helpe themselves in stead of sailes. 1611 Florio, Veneria, a Scallop called a Purcelane or Venus-winkle. |
▪ II. ˈVenus2 error for
Venice, by association with
prec.| 1629 in Foster Eng. Factories India (1909) III. 349 Cordage, wheat, Venus cloth. 1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 485/1 Rhus Cotinus, Venus Sumach, or Wild Olive. 1866 Treas. Bot. 980/1 R. Cotinus, another South European species, called the Venus or Venetian Sumach, yields the yellow dye⁓wood called Young Fustic. |