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Classical Mythology. a giant with 100 eyes, set to guard the heifer Io: his eyes were transferred after his death to the peacock’s tail.
a son of Phrixus and builder of the Argo.
(in the Odyssey) Odysseus’ faithful dog, who recognized his master after twenty years and immediately died.
any observant or vigilant person; a watchful guardian.
(lowercase). Also, argus pheasant. any of several brilliantly marked Malayan pheasants of the Argusianus or Rheinardia genera.
Historical Examples

What shall we say to the argus pheasant, the bird of Malacca with the magnificent pinions?
The Romance of Natural History, Second Series Philip Henry Gosse

On their heads they wore a mass of feathers of the argus pheasant.
Borneo and the Indian Archipelago Frank S. Marryat

The argus pheasant is common, and a very considerable variety of gallinaceous birds is carried from hence to Penang.
The Mission to Siam, and Hu the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2 George Finlayson

Let us take one example—the courtship of the argus pheasant.
The Truth About Woman C. Gasquoine Hartley

Do not forget to procure some skins of the argus pheasant; I think it differs from those of the Malayan peninsula.
Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos (Vol. 2 of 2) Henri Mouhot

There was an immediate answer—the shrill note of the argus pheasant.
The Argus Pheasant John Charles Beecham

Suddenly in the breathless, soundless, hot night an argus pheasant screamed in the woods across the stream.
Within the Tides Joseph Conrad

“The argus pheasant will fly to Sadong faster than your proa,” she said.
The Argus Pheasant John Charles Beecham

“The argus pheasant is too shy a bird to come within gunshot, your excellency,” he replied somberly.
The Argus Pheasant John Charles Beecham

Quick as he was, quick as a tiger striking its prey, the argus pheasant was quicker.
The Argus Pheasant John Charles Beecham

noun
either of two pheasants, Argusianus argus (great argus) or Rheinardia ocellata (crested argus), occurring in SE Asia and Indonesia. The males have very long tails marked with eyelike spots
noun
any of various brown butterflies, esp the Scotch argus (Erebia aethiops) found on moorland and in forests up to a height of 2000 m
noun
(Greek myth) a giant with a hundred eyes who was made guardian of the heifer Io. After he was killed by Hermes his eyes were transferred to the peacock’s tail
a vigilant person; guardian

hundred-eyed giant of Greek mythology, late 14c., from Latin, from Greek Argos, literally “the bright one,” from argos “shining, bright” (see argent). His epithet was Panoptes “all-eyes.” After his death, Hera transferred his eyes to the peacock’s tail. Used in figurative sense of “very vigilant person.”

A creature in classical mythology who had a hundred eyes. Hera set him to watch over Io, a girl who had been seduced by Zeus and then turned into a cow; with Argus on guard, Zeus could not come to rescue Io, for only some of Argus’ eyes would be closed in sleep at any one time. Hermes, working on Zeus’ behalf, played music that put all the eyes to sleep and then killed Argus. Hera put his eyes in the tail of the peacock.