Argus

[ ahr-guh s ]
/ 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 the Odyssey) 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.

Origin of Argus

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

British Dictionary definitions for argus pheasant (1 of 3)

argus pheasant

noun

either of two pheasants, Argusianus argus (great argus) or Rheinardia ocellata (crested argus), occurring in SE Asia and Indonesia. The males have very long tails marked with eyelike spots

British Dictionary definitions for argus pheasant (2 of 3)

argus
/ (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

British Dictionary definitions for argus pheasant (3 of 3)

Argus
/ (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

Cultural definitions for argus pheasant

Argus

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.