Vesta


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Related to Vesta: Ceres

Ves·ta

 (vĕs′tə)
n.
1. Roman Mythology The goddess of the hearth, worshiped in a temple containing the sacred fire tended by the vestal virgins.
2. The brightest of the asteroids and the second most massive object in the asteroid belt after the dwarf planet Ceres.
[Latin; see wes- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vesta

(ˈvɛstə)
n
a short friction match, usually of wood
[C19: named after the goddess; see Vesta1]

Vesta

(ˈvɛstə)
n
(Classical Myth & Legend) the Roman goddess of the hearth and its fire. In her temple a perpetual flame was tended by the vestal virgins. Greek counterpart: Hestia

Vesta

(ˈvɛstə)
n
(Celestial Objects) the brightest of the four largest asteroids. Diameter: about 530 km (240 miles)
[C19: named after the goddess; see Vesta1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Ves•ta

(ˈvɛs tə)

n.
1. the Roman goddess of the hearth: identified with the Greek goddess Hestia.
2. (l.c.) Brit. a short friction match.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.Vesta - (Roman mythology) goddess of the hearth and its fire whose flame was tended by vestal virgins; counterpart of Greek Hestia
Roman mythology - the mythology of the ancient Romans
2.Vesta - the brightest asteroid but the fourth to be discovered
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

vesta

[ˈvestə] N → cerilla f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
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References in classic literature ?
The clock represented a temple of Vesta; and the whole room smelled musty, as it was on a lower level than the garden.
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When we were in complete darkness, he lit a wax vesta, and asked Daddy Jacques to move to the middle of the chamber with it to the place where the night-light was burning that night.
Daddy Jacques who was in his stockings--he usually left his sabots in the vestibule--entered The Yellow Room with his bit of a vesta. We vaguely distinguished objects overthrown on the floor, a bed in one corner, and, in front of us, to the left, the gleam of a looking-glass hanging on the wall, near to the bed.
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Not that I would intimate that such strict chastity as was preserved in the temple of Vesta can possibly be maintained at a public inn.
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At the corner of Pitt Street he paused to light a fresh cigar; the vesta threw, as he did so, a strong light upon his features, and a man of about his own age stopped at sight of it.
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"What's this?" It was a wax vesta half burned, which was so coated with mud that it looked at first like a little chip of wood.
There was a box of vestas, two inches of tallow candle, an A D P brier-root pipe, a pouch of seal-skin with half an ounce of long-cut Cavendish, a silver watch with a gold chain, five sovereigns in gold, an aluminum pencil-case, a few papers, and an ivory-handled knife with a very delicate, inflexible bade marked Weiss & Co., London.
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(18) The goddess of the hearth (the Roman "Vesta"), and so of the house.
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The Temple of Vesta might have sprung up anew from its ruins, expressly to lend its countenance to the occasion.
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He is a professional beggar, though in order to avoid the police regulations he pretends to a small trade in wax vestas. Some little distance down Threadneedle Street, upon the left-hand side, there is, as you may have remarked, a small angle in the wall.
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There's something intrinsically interesting about observing asteroids--they're giant space rocks, after all--but the success of NASA's Dawn mission turned Vesta into a particularly compelling target.
Vesta at Its Best: Asteroid 4 Vesta is closest this month, a lustrous light in the southern sky

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