(n) :
a
mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to
ashes on a
pyre of its own making,
ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes; anything that is reborn after apparently being destroyed. Usually used as a
simile. Astronomers believe planets might form in this dead star's disk, like the mythical Phoenix rising up out of the ashes