vesta Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (Roman mythology) goddess of the hearth and its fire whose flame was tended by vestal virgins; counterpart of Greek Hestia
  2. noun the brightest asteroid but the fourth to be discovered

WordNet

Ves"ta noun
Etymology
L. Vesta, akin to Gr. Vesta, the hearth of the house, and perhaps to Skr. ush to burn (see East), or perhaps to Skr. vas to dwell, and E. was.
Definitions
  1. (Rom. Myth.) One of the great divinities of the ancient Romans, identical with the Greek Hestia. She was a virgin, and the goddess of the hearth; hence, also, of the fire on it, and the family round it.
  2. (Astron.) An asteroid, or minor planet, discovered by Olbers in 1807.
  3. A wax friction match. Simmonds.

Webster 1913