Etymologically
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hydra

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhaɪdɹə/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin hydra,[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ὕδρα (húdra, “water serpent”),[2][3][4][5] the feminine of ὕδρος (húdros, “water snake”),[4][6] from ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”),[3][4][6] from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water, wet”).[4][2] It is related to Sanskrit उद्र (udra, “aquatic animal”) and English otter.[4][6][7] Earlier Middle English forms such as idre came through Old French ydre.[3][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Greek myth, the many-headed water snake of Lerna slain by Hercules, whose heads grew again as fast as they were cut off (c. 1374 in the OED; about 1380 in Barnhart; late 14th century in Etymonline).[10][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Chaucer already alludes to the Hydra's many, indestructible heads.[11] From 1494 the word was used figuratively of an evil or problem with many sides that cannot be ended by a single effort,[10][3][12] or in Johnson's words “any multiplicity of evils”.[4] It also named a southern constellation (1559)[10] and venomous sea snakes (1608).[10] In zoology Hydra is the genus of small freshwater polyps,[3][12] so named in the 18th century because cutting one into pieces multiplies its number.[8][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – the mythical monster.[10]
  • 1494 – a many-sided evil.[10][3]
  • 1559 – the constellation.[10]
  • 1608 – a sea snake.[10]
  • 1835 – the freshwater polyp (Barnhart).[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (Greek mythology) The many-headed serpent of Lerna, slain by Hercules, each of whose heads grew back double when cut off; usually capitalized.
  2. A persistent or many-sided problem or evil that cannot be overcome by a single effort.
  3. Any of several small freshwater polyps of the genus Hydra, with a cylindrical body and a ring of tentacles around the mouth.
  4. Hydra: a long, faint southern constellation near Cancer and Virgo.

Word family

  • hydranth
  • otter
  • water
  • hydrant
  • hydro-
  • hydrangea

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  12. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster