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Webster 1913 Edition

Mermaid

Mer′maid

,
Noun.
[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.
☞ Chaucer uses this word as equivalent to the siren of the ancients.
Mermaid fish
(Zool.)
the angel fish (
Squatina
).
–
Mermaid’s glove
(Zool.)
,
a British branched sponge somewhat resembling a glove.
–
Mermaid's head
(Zool.)
,
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
Proserpinaca pectinacea
).

Webster 1828 Edition

Mermaid

MER'MAID

,
Noun.
[L.mare, the sea, and maid.] A marine animal, said to resemble a woman in the upper parts of the body, and a fish in the lower part. The male is called the merman.

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