andromeda
andromeda Lexical Profile
• noun
A prominent constellation in the northern sky located south of Cassiopeia, containing the Andromeda Galaxy, which is the nearest major spiral galaxy to the Milky Way.
"On a clear autumn night away from city lights, you can spot the faint smudge of the galaxy within the constellation Andromeda with the naked eye."
In Greek mythology, the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of Aethiopia, who was chained to a coastal rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster before being rescued and married by the hero Perseus.
"Renaissance painters frequently depicted the dramatic moment when Perseus swooped down to free Andromeda from her chains."
Any of various low-growing evergreen shrubs of the heath family (Ericaceae), especially bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) or related ornamental species in the genus Pieris, native to northern peat bogs and woodlands and cultivated for their nodding clusters of pink or white bell-shaped flowers.
"In early spring, the bog rosemary and Japanese andromeda brighten the shaded garden border with cascading panicles of delicate, urn-shaped blossoms."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Andromeda, from Ancient Greek Ἀνδρομέδα (Androméda), composed of ἀνήρ (anḗr, "man") and μέδομαι (médomai, "to think of, be mindful of"). The botanical genus was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1732, who compared the solitary pink blossoms growing on rocky hummocks in Lapland to the mythological princess chained to a sea-swept rock.
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