Nearby Words
noun
1.
Classical Mythology. one of several sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, who lure mariners to destruction by their seductive singing.
2.
a seductively beautiful or charming woman, especially one who beguiles men: a siren of the silver screen.
3.
an acoustical instrument for producing musical tones, consisting essentially of a disk pierced with holes arranged equidistantly in a circle, rotated over a jet or stream of compressed air, steam, or the like, so that the stream is alternately interrupted and allowed to pass.
4.
an implement of this kind used as a whistle, fog signal, or warning device.
5.
any of several aquatic, eellike salamanders of the family Sirenidae, having permanent external gills, small forelimbs, and no posterior limbs.
adjective
6.
of or like a siren.
7.
seductive or tempting, especially dangerously or harmfully: the siren call of adventure.
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Siren
is always a great word to know.
So is Ariadne. Does it mean:
| suggestive of a western people believed to dwell in perpetual darkness |
| a daughter of Minos and Pasipha? who gave Theseus the thread by which he escaped from the labyrinth, she became the bride of Dionysus |
verb (used without object)
8.
to go with the siren sounding, as a fire engine.
verb (used with object)
9.
to allure in the manner of a siren.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English sereyn < Old French sereine < Late Latin Sīrēna, Latin Sīrēn < Greek Seirḗn
1300–50; Middle English sereyn < Old French sereine < Late Latin Sīrēna, Latin Sīrēn < Greek Seirḗn
Related forms
si·ren·like, adjective
Synonyms
2. seductress, temptress, vamp.
2. seductress, temptress, vamp.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To siren
Example Sentences
- Robles-Roman, people who spoke with the mayor about the siren issue said.
- They took a siren in a circle, and popped out a siren on her own.
- Lorelei was a temptress whose siren song lured sailors to their deaths on the dangerous rocks beneath the cliffs.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
siren
mid-14c., "sea nymph who by her singing lures sailors to their destruction," from O.Fr. sereine, from L.L. Sirena, from L. Siren, from Gk. Seiren ["Odyssey," xii.39 ff.], perhaps lit. "binder," from seira "cord, rope." Meaning "device that makes a warning sound" (on an ambulance, etc.) first recorded
EXPAND1879, in reference to steamboats. Figurative sense of "one who sings sweetly and charms" is recorded from 1580s.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
siren
any member of the family Sirenidae (order Caudata), a group of four species of aquatic salamanders that resemble eels. Their long, slender bodies are usually brown, dark gray, or greenish. The forelegs are tiny, and the hind legs and pelvis are absent. Young and adults have feathery gills
Learn more about siren with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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