Ophiuchus

noun

Ophi·​u·​chus ˌä-fē-ˈyü-kəs 

ˌō-

astronomy

: a large northern constellation that is visible between the constellations of Scutum and Hercules and that is represented by the figure of a man grasping a snake (the constellation Serpens)

Thomas Greene of the University of Hawaii and Charles Lada of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory have studied five protostars in Ophiuchus, each about 100,000 years old.

—Astronomy, September 1997

Word History

First Known Use

1556, in the meaning defined above

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