ceres
ceres Lexical Profile
ceres Game Scores & Validity
• noun
(Roman mythology) The ancient Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility, and motherly relationships, equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.
"In Roman myth, Ceres searched tirelessly across the earth for her daughter Proserpina after she was abducted to the underworld."
The largest object in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and the only recognized dwarf planet located in the inner solar system.
"NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Ceres in 2015 to study the dwarf planet's icy crust and bright salt deposits."
Plural of cere: the soft, fleshy, waxlike swelling found at the base of the upper beak in certain birds, such as hawks, parrots, and pigeons, through which the nostrils open.
"Biologists can often determine the age and sex of budgerigars by examining the color and texture of their ceres."
Word Nuance & Usage
When capitalized, 'Ceres' refers to the Roman goddess of agriculture or the dwarf planet in the asteroid belt; in lowercase, 'ceres' is the plural of 'cere', the fleshy structure at the base of a bird's beak.
• Rhymes for ceres
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Ceres, the name of the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, and fertility, derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱer- meaning 'to grow' or 'to nourish' (which also gave rise to the English word 'cereal').