Siren definition

Siren





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7 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Siren \Si"ren\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ???: cf. F. sir[`e]ne.]
     1. (Class. Myth.) One of three sea nymphs, -- or, according
        to some writers, of two, -- said to frequent an island
        near the coast of Italy, and to sing with such sweetness
        that they lured mariners to destruction.
        [1913 Webster]


  
              Next where the sirens dwell you plow the seas;
              Their song is death, and makes destruction please.
                                                    --Pope.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. An enticing, dangerous woman. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Something which is insidious or deceptive.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Consumption is a siren.               --W. Irving.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A mermaid. [Obs.] --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Zool.) Any long, slender amphibian of the genus {Siren}
        or family {Sirenidae}, destitute of hind legs and pelvis,
        and having permanent external gills as well as lungs. They
        inhabit the swamps, lagoons, and ditches of the Southern
        United States. The more common species ({Siren lacertina})
        is dull lead-gray in color, and becames two feet long.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. [F. sir[`e]ne, properly, a siren in sense 1.] (Acoustics)
        An instrument for producing musical tones and for
        ascertaining the number of sound waves or vibrations per
        second which produce a note of a given pitch. The sounds
        are produced by a perforated rotating disk or disks. A
        form with two disks operated by steam or highly compressed
        air is used sounding an alarm to vessels in fog. [Written
        also {sirene}, and {syren}.]
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Siren \Si"ren\, a.
     Of or pertaining to a siren; bewitching, like a siren;
     fascinating; alluring; as, a siren song.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Siren
       n 1: a sea nymph (part woman and part bird) supposed to lure
            sailors to destruction on the rocks where the nymphs
            lived; "Odysseus ordered his crew to plug their ears so
            they would not hear the Siren's fatal song"
       2: a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive [syn:
          {enchantress}, {temptress}, {Delilah}, {femme fatale}]
       3: a warning signal that is a loud wailing sound
       4: an acoustic device producing a loud often wailing sound as a
          signal or warning
       5: eel-like aquatic North American salamander with small
          forelimbs and no hind limbs; have permanent external gills

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  200 Moby Thesaurus words for "siren":
     Circe, Davy, Davy Jones, Don Juan, Dylan, Euryale, Gorgon, Jezebel,
     Klaxon, Lorelei, Mayday, Medea, Medusa, Neptune, Nereid, Nereus,
     Oceanid, Oceanus, Parthenope, Poseidon, SOS, Siren, Stheno, Thetis,
     Triton, Varuna, air-raid alarm, alarm, alarm bell, alarm clock,
     alarm signal, alarum, alert, all clear, alluring, appealing,
     appetizing, attracting, attractive, beacon, beguiling, beldam,
     bewitcher, bewitching, bitch-kitty, blandishing, blinking light,
     boiler factory, boiler room, bull-roarer, burglar alarm, buzzer,
     cajoling, captivating, catcall, catching, charismatic, charmer,
     charming, cherry bomb, clack, clacker, clapper, coaxing,
     come-hither, coquette, coquettish, cracker, cricket, crostarie,
     drawing, enchanter, enchanting, enchantress, engaging, enravishing,
     enthralling, enticer, enticing, entrancing, exciting, exotic,
     fascinating, femme fatale, fetching, fiery cross, fire alarm,
     fire bell, fire flag, firecracker, five-minute gun, flashing light,
     flirt, flirtatious, fog bell, fog signal, foghorn,
     fresh-water nymph, fury, gale warning, glamorous, grimalkin, hag,
     hellcat, hellhag, hooter, horn, hue and cry, hurricane warning,
     hypnotic, interesting, intriguing, inveigler, inviting,
     irresistible, kelpie, lighthouse, limniad, magnetic, man fish,
     mermaid, merman, mesmeric, mouth-watering, naiad, nix, nixie,
     noisemaker, note of alarm, occulting light, ocean nymph, piquant,
     police whistle, prepossessing, provocative, provoquant, rattle,
     rattlebox, ravishing, sea devil, sea god, sea nymph, sea-maid,
     sea-maiden, seaman, seducer, seducing, seductive, seductress,
     she-devil, she-wolf, signal, signal of distress, sirenic,
     small-craft warning, snapper, sorceress, spellbinder, spellbinding,
     spellful, steam whistle, still alarm, storm cone, storm flag,
     storm warning, taking, tantalizing, teaser, teasing, tempter,
     tempting, temptress, termagant, tickling, ticktack, tigress,
     titillating, titillative, tocsin, two-minute gun, undine,
     upside-down flag, vamp, vampire, virago, vixen, wailer, warble,
     warning, water god, water spirit, water sprite, whistle, whizgig,
     whizzer, wildcat, winning, winsome, witch, witching
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  SIREN, n.  One of several musical prodigies famous for a vain attempt
  to dissuade Odysseus from a life on the ocean wave.  Figuratively, any
  lady of splendid promise, dissembled purpose and disappointing
  performance.
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Siren, WI (village, FIPS 74175)
    Location: 45.78368 N, 92.37997 W
    Population (1990): 863 (456 housing units)
    Area: 2.6 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 54872

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Siren, WI -- U.S. village in Wisconsin
     Population (2000):    988
     Housing Units (2000): 499
     Land area (2000):     1.103843 sq. miles (2.858940 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.022314 sq. miles (0.057793 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    1.126157 sq. miles (2.916733 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            74175
     Located within:       Wisconsin (WI), FIPS 55
     Location:             45.783633 N, 92.380161 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     54872
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Siren, WI
      Siren
  

















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