in Antiquity, slaves who supplied the women's baths with water, called sometimes Aquarioli, and held in great contempt (Juc. vi. 331, Fest. p. 19). The inspectors of the conduits or water-pipes were likewise called Aquarii.
the Water-bearer, in Astronomy, the 11th sign of the zodiac. It is marked thus, ♍. The poets feign that Aquarius was Ganymede, whom Jupiter ravished under the shape of an eagle, and carried away into heaven to serve as a cup-bearer in the room of Hebe and Vulcan; whence the name. Others hold that the sign was thus called because when it appears in the horizon the weather usually proves rainy.