hydra
noun /ˈhaɪdrə/
/ˈhaɪdrə/
- Hydra(in ancient Greek stories) a snake with several heads. As one head was cut off, another one grew. In the end it was killed by Hercules.
- (formal) a thing that is very difficult to deal with, because it continues for a long time or because it has many different aspects
- (biology) an extremely small water creature with a body that is like a tube in shape and tentacles around its mouth
Word Originvia Latin from Greek hudra ‘water snake’, named by Linnaeus because, if cut into pieces, each section can grow into a whole animal.