mermaid

mer·maid   (mûr'mād')    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.]

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).

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.

mermaid 

mermaid

a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a human being and the tail of a fish. Similar divine or semidivine beings appear in ancient mythologies (e.g., the Chaldean sea god Ea, or Oannes). In European folklore, mermaids (sometimes called sirens) and mermen were natural beings who, like fairies, had magical and prophetic powers. They loved music and often sang. Though very long-lived, they were mortal and had no souls

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