mermaid
6 dictionary results for: Mermaid
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mer·maid 
[mur-meyd] Pronunciation Key
[mur-meyd] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | (in folklore) a female marine creature, having the head, torso, and arms of a woman and the tail of a fish. |
| 2. | a highly skilled female swimmer. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| mer·maid
(mûr'mād') Pronunciation Key
n. A legendary sea creature having the head and upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish. [Middle English : mere, sea, lake; see mere2 + maid, maid; see maid.] |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mermaid
mermaid
c.1386, mermayde, lit. "maid of the sea," from M.E. mere "sea, lake" (see mere (n.)) + maid (q.v.). O.E. had equivalent merewif (see wife). Tail-less in northern Europe; the fishy form is a medieval influence from classical sirens. A favorite sign of taverns since at least 1428. Merman is a later formation (1601).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
mermaid
mermaid
A legendary marine creature with the head and torso of a woman and the tail of a fish; the masculine, less well-known equivalent is a merman. Though linked to the classical Sirens, mermaids may be nothing more than sailors' fanciful reports of the playful antics of dugongs or manatees.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Mermaid
Mer"maid\, n. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.] A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish. Note: Chaucer uses this word as equivalent to the siren of the ancients. Mermaid fish (Zo["o]l.) the angel fish (Squatina). Mermaid's glove (Zo["o]l.), a British branched sponge somewhat resembling a glove. Mermaid's head (Zo["o]l.), a European spatangoid sea urchin (Echinocardium cordatum) having some resemblance to a skull. Mermaid weed (Bot.), an aquatic herb with dentate or pectinate leaves (Proserpinaca palustris and P. pectinacea).
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Share This:
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.