1. (

• Venus

) the second nearest planet to the sun; it is peculiar in that its rotation is slow and retrograde (in the opposite sense of the Earth and all other planets except Uranus); it is visible from Earth as an early `morning star' or an `evening star'; "before it was known that they were the same object the evening star was called Venus and the morning star was called Lucifer" ;

2. (

• Venus ,
• Urania ,

) goddess of love; counterpart of Greek Aphrodite ;

3. (

• Venus ,
• genus_Venus

) type genus of the family Veneridae: genus of edible clams with thick oval shells ;