Argus

American

[ahr-guhs] / ˈɑr gəs /

noun

Classical Mythology. a giant with 100 eyes, set to guard the heifer Io: his eyes were transferred after his death to the peacock's tail.
a son of Phrixus and builder of the Argo.
(in theOdyssey ) Odysseus' faithful dog, who recognized his master after twenty years and immediately died.
any observant or vigilant person; a watchful guardian.
(lowercase) Also argus pheasant any of several brilliantly marked Malayan pheasants of the Argusianus or Rheinardia genera.

argus ¹ British

/ ˈɑːɡəs /

noun

any of various brown butterflies, esp the Scotch argus ( Erebia aethiops ) found on moorland and in forests up to a height of 2000 m

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Argus ² British

/ ˈɑːɡəs /

noun

Greek myth a giant with a hundred eyes who was made guardian of the heifer Io. After he was killed by Hermes his eyes were transferred to the peacock's tail
a vigilant person; guardian

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Argus Cultural

A creature in classical mythology who had a hundred eyes. Hera set him to watch over Io, a girl who had been seduced by Zeus and then turned into a cow; with Argus on guard, Zeus could not come to rescue Io, for only some of Argus' eyes would be closed in sleep at any one time. Hermes, working on Zeus' behalf, played music that put all the eyes to sleep and then killed Argus. Hera put his eyes in the tail of the peacock.

Etymology

Origin of Argus

< Latin < Greek Árgos, derivative of argós bright, shining

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The people in and about Rochester have been knocked almost out of their senses lately, by a family of quite pretty young ladies …” gushed the Weekly Argus, introducing Albany’s citizens to the fabulous Fox sisters.

From Literature

Yusuf joined the Journal from Argus Media, where he priced and reported on the European metals market.

From The Wall Street Journal

January’s average price was a record high at nearly $1,572 a kilogram, according to Argus Media.

From The Wall Street Journal

Weaker oil futures weighed on ag prices Monday, says Argus in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Friday, the price difference between Brent and Russia’s Urals blend reached $26.5, a record high, according to commodity analytics company Argus Media.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023