1.the second nearest planet to the sun; visible as an early `morning star' or an `evening star'; rotates slowly clockwise (in the opposite direction from the normal rotation of the planets);
before it was known that they were the same object the evening star was called Venus and the morning star was called Lucifer
2.goddess of love; counterpart of Greek Aphrodite
3.type genus of the family Veneridae: genus of edible clams with thick oval shells