| hercules | 1. A hero, fabled to have been the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and celebrated for great strength, especially. For the accomplishment of his twelve great tasks or "labors." 2. <astronomy> A constellation in the northern hemisphere, near Lyra. <zoology> Hercules' beetle, any species of Dynastes, an American genus of very large lamellicorn beetles, especially. D. Hercules of South America, which grows to a length of six inches. Hercules' club. <botany> An ornamental tree of the West Indies (Zanthoxylum Clava-Herculis), of the same genus with the prickly ash. A variety of the common gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris). Its fruit sometimes exceeds five feet in length. The Angelica tree. See Angelica. Hercules powder, an explosive containing nitroglycerin; used for blasting. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| infant Hercules | Term applied to young children with precocious sexual and muscular development due to a virilizing adrenocortical disorder. (05 Mar 2000) |
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