HERCULEAN
Her*cu"le*an, a. Etym: [L. herculeus, fr. Hercules: cf. F. herculéen.
See Hercules.]
1. Requiring the strength of Hercules; hence, very great, difficult, or dangerous; as, an Herculean task.
2. Having extraordinary strength or size; as, Herculean limbs. "Herculean Samson." Milton.
HERCULES
Her"cu*les, n.
1. (Gr. Myth.)
Defn: A hero, fabled to have been the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and celebrated for great strength, esp. for the accomplishment of his twelve great tasks or "labors."
2. (Astron.)
Defn: A constellation in the northern hemisphere, near Lyra. Hercules' beetle (Zoöl.), any species of Dynastes, an American genus of very large lamellicorn beetles, esp. D. hercules of South America, which grows to a length of six inches. — Hercules' club. (Bot.) (a) An ornamental tree of the West Indies (Zanthoxylum Clava-Herculis), of the same genus with the prickly ash. (b) A variety of the common gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris). Its fruit sometimes exceeds five feet in length. (c) The Angelica tree. See under Angelica. — Hercules powder, an explosive containing nitroglycerin; — used for blasting.
HERCYNIAN
Her*cyn"i*an, a. Etym: [L. Hercynia silva, Hercynius saltus, the
Hercynian forest; cf. Gr.
Defn: Of or pertaining to an extensive forest in Germany, of which there are still portions in Swabia and the Hartz mountains.