sirenian
noun
Did you know?
Sirenian traces back via Latin to Greek seirēn, which is equivalent to our word for the sirens of Greek mythology. And what is the connection between sirens and sirenians? Modern sirenians do not resemble the half bird, half woman creatures who lured sailors to their doom with their sweet singing, but sirenians are considered by some to underlie the ancient legends about mermaids. In European folklore mermaids were sometimes called "sirens," and apparently this confusion resulted in the granting of sirenians the name they bear today.
Examples of sirenian in a Sentence
Vanessa Hua, SFChronicle.com, 13 Feb. 2020
Discovered by the German naturalist Georg Steller around the Bering Sea’s Commander Islands in 1741, this enormous and peculiar sirenian became an easy target for Russian hunters.
—Brian Switek, WIRED, 24 June 2010
Dictionary Entries Near sirenian
Cite this Entry
“Sirenian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sirenian. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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