siren

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsaɪəɹən/ (UK); /ˈsaɪɹən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English serein, borrowed from Old French sereine,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Late Latin Sīrēna, from Latin Sīrēn,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} perhaps literally “binder, entangler”, from seirá “cord, rope”.^[4] The sense “warning device” was borrowed in the 19th century from French sirène.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An imaginary kind of serpent (1340), from glosses on the Latin Bible;^[7][3] then one of the mythical creatures who lured sailors to destruction by their singing (c. 1366).^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

Medieval translations garbled the classical descriptions of the Sirens, who were often confused with mermaids.^[4][7] Figuratively a siren is one who sings sweetly, charms or deceives (1590),^[7][4] and especially a seductive woman.^[2][6] The acoustical instrument invented by Cagniard de la Tour in 1819 was named after the Sirens (1820),^[7] and from 1879 the name was given to the loud warning device of steamships,^[7][3][4] later to air-raid sirens and the sirens of police cars and ambulances.^[4]

Timeline

• 1340 – an imaginary serpent.^[7][3]
• c. 1366 – a mythological Siren.^[7]
• 1568 – adjective, enticing.^[5]
• 1590 – one who charms or allures.^[7]
• 1766 – an eel-like salamander.^[7]
• 1820 – an acoustical instrument.^[7]
• 1879 – a ship's warning signal.^[7][3][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (Greek mythology) One of a group of sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, who lured sailors to destruction on the rocks with their singing.
2. A seductive and beautiful woman; a temptress.
3. A device producing a loud, often wailing sound as a signal or warning, as on an ambulance or for an air raid.
4. Any of several eel-like salamanders of North America with external gills and no hind legs.

Adjective

1. Like that of a siren; enticing, as in a siren song.

Word family

• sirenian
• siren song

Related words

• mermaid
• lorelei

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press