noun
type genus of the Danaidae: monarch butterflies
• Syn: ↑genus Danaus
• Hypernyms: ↑arthropod genus
• Member Holonyms: ↑Danaidae, ↑family Danaidae
• Member Meronyms: ↑monarch, ↑monarch butterfly, ↑milkweed butterfly, ↑Danaus plexippus
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\\ˈdanēəs, -nāəs\ nounUsage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, after Danaus, mythical king of Argos who ordered his daughters to murder their husbands, from Latin, from Greek Danaos
: the type genus of Danaidae comprising the monarch and several other predominantly black-and-orange butterflies chiefly of subtropical regions
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/dan"ay euhs/, n. Class. Myth.
a ruler of Argos who ordered his 50 daughters to kill their husbands on their wedding night. Cf. Danaides.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.