*hesper*

n. (Chem.) A white, crystalline substance having a sweetish taste, obtained by the decomposition of hesperidin, and regarded as a complex derivative of caffeic acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. hesperius, fr. hesperus the evening star, Gr. &unr_; evening, &unr_; &unr_; the evening star. Cf. Vesper. ] Western; being in the west; occidental. [ Poetic ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Of or pertaining to a family of butterflies called Hesperidae, or skippers. -- n. Any one of the numerous species of Hesperidae; a skipper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A native or an inhabitant of a western country. [ Poetic ] J. Barlow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & n. (Zool.) Same as 3d Hesperian. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Hesperidium. ] (Chem.) An isomeric variety of terpene from orange oil. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_;. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Class. Myth.) The daughters of Hesperus, or Night (brother of Atlas), and fabled possessors of a garden producing golden apples, in Africa, at the western extremity of the known world. To slay the guarding dragon and get some of these apples was one of the labors of Hercules. Called also Atlantides. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The garden producing the golden apples. [ 1913 Webster ]

It not love a Hercules,
Still climbing trees in the Hesperides? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Hesperidium. ] (Chem.) A glucoside found in ripe and unripe fruit (as the orange), and extracted as a white crystalline substance. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. So called in allusion to the golden apples of the Hesperides. See Hesperides. ] (Bot.) A large berry with a thick rind, as a lemon or an orange. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; western + &unr_;, &unr_;, a bird. ] (Paleon.) A genus of large, extinct, wingless birds from the Cretaceous deposits of Kansas, belonging to the Odontornithes. They had teeth, and were essentially carnivorous swimming ostriches. Several species are known. See Illust. in Append. [ 1913 Webster ]