Lexic.us

Definition of Siren

1. Noun. 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. Noun. A woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive.

3. Noun. A warning signal that is a loud wailing sound.

4. Noun. An acoustic device producing a loud often wailing sound as a signal or warning.

5. Noun. Eellike aquatic North American salamander with small forelimbs and no hind limbs; have permanent external gills.

Definition of Siren

1. n. 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.

2. a. Of or pertaining to a siren; bewitching, like a siren; fascinating; alluring; as, a siren song.

Definition of Siren

1. Noun. (''original sense'') (Greek mythology) One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks. ¹

2. Noun. A device, either mechanical or electronic, that makes a piercingly loud sound as an alarm or signal. ¹

3. Noun. A dangerously seductive woman. ¹

4. Noun. A common name for salamanders of ''Siren'' and Sirenidae. ¹

5. Noun. A common name for mammals of ''Sirenia''. ¹

6. Adjective. relating to or like a siren ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Siren

1. a device that produces a penetrating warning sound [n -S]

Medical Definition of Siren

1. 1. 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. "Next where the sirens dwell you plow the seas; Their song is death, and makes destruction please." (Pope) 2. An enticing, dangerous woman. 3. Something which is insidious or deceptive. "Consumption is a siren." (W. Irving) 4. A mermaid. 5. 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 colour, and becames two feet long. 6. [F. Sirene, properly, a siren in sense 1. 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. Alternative forms: sirene, and syren. Origin: L, fr. Gr., cf. F. Sirene. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Siren

sipunculoidea sipunculoids sira siras sircar sircars sirdar sirdars sire sired

siredon siree sirees siren (current term) siren call siren song siren songs sirene sirenian sirenian mammal

sirenians sirenic sirenical sireniform sirenise sirenised

Literary usage of Siren

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and by Hugh Chisholm (1911)
"Each siren is provided with ports for producing a high note as well as a low note, ... By the latter means the admission of air to the siren can be delayed ..."

2. On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music by Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz, Alexander John Ellis (1885)
"But a simple experiment with the siren shews that when equal amounts of ... Thus, if the siren is blown by a bellows, which makes its disc- revolve with ..."

3. On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music by Hermann von Helmholtz (1912)
"But a simple experiment with the siren shews that when equal amounts of ... Thus, if the siren is blown by a bellows, which makes its disc revolve with ..."

4. The Potters' Quarter: The Pottery by Agnes Newhall Stillwell, J. L. Benson (1984)
"Animal frieze, bounded above by triple alternate-dot band with heavy borders, and below by circumf. line and band: bit of siren, r., with reverted head(? ..."

5. Physical Technics: Or, Practical Instructions for Making Experiments in by Joseph Frick (1862)
"If the siren has an index, it may be connected with the bellows of the blast.table, by substituting a bent glass tube for the brass one, and connecting this ..."

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