English

Drawing of an image from a 5th-century BCE Athenian red figure vase depicting Hermes slaying the giant Argus Panoptes in the presence of Zeus. Note the eyes covering Argus' body. Io as a cow stands in the background.

Alternative forms

• Argos

Proper noun

Argus ‎(plural Argi or Arguses)

1. (Greek mythology) A fabulous being of antiquity, also called Argus Panoptes, said to have had a hundred eyes. His eyes were transplanted to the peacock’s tail. He was a servant of the Greek goddess Hera.

Translations

Derived terms

• argus-eyed

Anagrams

• gaurs
• sugar

Latin

Noun

Argūs

1. genitive singular of Argō

References

• Argus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “Argus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.

English

Noun

argus ‎(plural arguses)

1. An alert, observant person

Translations

Latin

Adjective

argus

1. Having many markings that look like eyes

Usage notes

• Used exclusively as a taxonomic epithet and thus not inflected.

References

• ARGUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• argus in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia
• argus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• argus in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray