noun
mainly historicalA short wooden or wax match.
‘Charles took a candle from its sconce and lit it with a match from his gold vesta case. ‘These are some of my ancestors,’ he explained, holding the candle towards the wall.’- ‘Francesca tugged open the drawer of the faded mahogany sideboard and retrieved from it a small silver vesta case.’
Origin
Mid 19th century from the name of the goddess Vesta.
proper noun
1Roman Mythology
The goddess of the hearth and household. Her temple in Rome contained no image but a fire which was kept constantly burning and was tended by the Vestal Virgins.2Astronomy
Asteroid 4, discovered in 1807. It is the brightest asteroid and the third largest (diameter 501 km), and appears to consist of basaltic rock.
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