Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One of a shower of meteors that appears to originate in the vicinity of the constellation Perseus during the second week of August.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One of the August meteors: so named because they seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus.
- n. The flock of Perseids is of great extent and moves in a path apparently coincident with that of Tuttle's comet of 1862, and now forms almost a complete oval ring around the sun. It gives us, therefore, more or less of a shower each year, beginning in the latter part of July and lasting till late in August, but most abundant about August 12. The Perseids are for the most part yellowish, and move with medium velocity, not as swiftly as the bluish Leonids, but more swiftly than the Bielids.
Wiktionary
- n. astronomy Any of the meteors in a meteor shower that appears to come from the constellation Perseus.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Astron.) One of a group of shooting stars which appear yearly about the 10th of August, and cross the heavens in paths apparently radiating from the constellation Perseus. They are probably fragments of Swift's comet 1862 (III).
Etymologies
- From Latin Perseus, the constellation Perseus; see Perseus, or from Greek Persēides, pl. of Persēis, offspring of Perseus (from Perseus, Perseus). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It is also the month of “The Tears of St. Lawrence,” more commonly known as the Perseid Meteor Shower.”
“Each year, as Earth moves through a trail of dust from the comet Swift-Tuttle's 133-year orbit, the night sky lights up in a hail of celestial fire known as the Perseid meteor shower”
“The Perseid meteor showers in August were the most stunning I ever saw, bushels of shooting stars, more than I could count.”
“Last night, the rains came, blocking our view of the Perseid meteor shower, but driving away the heat and rendering the House livable again.”
“The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of August 12/13.”
The Huffington Post: Zoe P. Strassfield: Plans and Precommitment: 2012 in Space!
“Perseid devleops drugs to treat autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and transplant rejections.”
“Maxygen announced on Thursday that Astellas Pharma will purchase the company's stake in their joint venture, Perseid Therapeutics, for $76 million.”
“NASA astronaut Ron Garan, who's currently aboard the International Space Station, wowed his 61,000 followers on Sunday with an incredible picture of a shooting star taken during the Perseid meteor shower.”
“I went outside and saw 6-7 meteors from the Perseid meteor shower.”
“Space. com reports that the annual Perseid meteor shower is a glimpse of ancient debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, left behind after multiple orbits around the sun.”
The Huffington Post: Perseid Meteor Shower 2010 (PHOTOS/VIDEO)
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘Perseid’.
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Sci
crepuscular ray, acronychal, acronyc, stratus, twain cloud, selva, Tucana, diaphanous, gossamer, tern, tairn, medrick and 3 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for Perseid.
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