Venus

Ve•nus

[[t]ˈvi nəs[/t]] n. pl. -us•es

1) myt an ancient Italian goddess, identified by the Romans with Aphrodite as the goddess of love and beauty

2) an exceptionally beautiful woman

3) astron. the most brilliant planet, second in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 7521 miles (12,104 km), a mean distance from the sun of 67.2 million miles (108.2 million km), a period of revolution of 224.68 days, and no moons

4) ara

Also called Ve′nus fig`ure.(sometimes l.c.) a statuette of a female figure, usu. carved of ivory and typically having exaggerated breasts, belly, or buttocks, often found in Upper Paleolithic cultures from Siberia to France.

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Etymology: < L Venus, s. Vener- orig. a neut. common n. meaning “physical desire,” hence “qualities exciting desire, charm,”“a goddess personifying sexual attractiveness”; c. Skt vanaḥ desire, akin to wish; cf. venerate, venom