Library / English Dictionary

PROTEUS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Type genus of the Proteidae

Synonyms:

genus Proteus; Proteus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("Proteus" is a kind of...):

amphibian genus (any genus of amphibians)

Meronyms (members of "Proteus"):

olm; Proteus anguinus (European aquatic salamander with permanent external gills that lives in caves)

Holonyms ("Proteus" is a member of...):

family Proteidae; Proteidae (mud puppies)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(Greek mythology) a prophetic god who served Poseidon; was capable of changing his shape at will

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

Greek deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Greeks)

Domain category:

Greek mythology (the mythology of the ancient Greeks)

Derivation:

protean (taking on different forms)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Normally, a moon like Proteus should have gravitationally swept aside or swallowed the smaller moon while clearing out its orbital path.

(Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon, NASA)

The diminutive moon, only 20 miles (about 34 kilometers) across, is 1/1000th the mass of Proteus (which is 260 miles, or about 418 kilometers, across).

(Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon, NASA)