The word used by Egyptologists for the cobra-goddess who personified the burning eye of the sun-god Re. Represented as an enraged cobra with a dilated throat, the uraeus appears on the front of the king's headdress and, in association with the solar disc, on the heads of solar deities. In this form, the goddess spat fire at the enemies of the king or god.
Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David
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Name for the cobra, representing the goddess Wadjet, which appears on the brow of the headdress of the monarch and so signifies royalty and kingship. During Dynasty 25, the Nubian rulers of Egypt wore a double uraeus.
See also Nekhbet.
Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier
Ancient Egypt. A Reference Guide. EdwART. 2011.