Mermaid Means Sea Maiden, Because Mere Meant Sea
A mermaid is a mythical woman with a fish's tail. The mer- is an old English word for a body of water, not a French borrowing.
A mermaid is a legendary creature, a woman above the waist and a fish below. The first half of the word is Old English *mere*, meaning a sea or lake, which survives in place names like Windermere. So a mermaid is simply a sea maid. Sailors' sightings are usually blamed on manatees and dugongs, which surface and hold their young like a nursing mother.
- A mythical woman with a fish's tail. *A mermaid on the rocks.*
- Merman — the male counterpart. *A bearded merman.*
- Mermaid as decoration or emblem. *A mermaid on the inn sign.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | mermaid | A carved mermaid. |
| Plural | mermaids | Singing mermaids. |
| Male | merman | A merman in the tale. |
| Related | siren | The sirens of the Odyssey. |
| Related | selkie | A Scottish selkie. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The ship's figurehead was a mermaid.A common choice.
- Sailors reported mermaids off the coast.Almost certainly manatees.
- The statue has become the city's emblem.Copenhagen's Little Mermaid, from 1913.
Water folk in other traditions
- Siren — Greek, originally bird-women whose song lured sailors
- Selkie — Scottish and Irish, a seal who becomes human on land
- Rusalka — Slavic water spirit
- Ningyo — Japanese fish-person, said to grant long life
- Mami Wata — a water spirit venerated across West and Central Africa
From Middle English *mermayde*, from *mere*, sea, and *maid*. The Old English *mere* is related to Latin *mare* and survives in English lake names.
Were mermaid sightings really manatees?
Most likely. Manatees and dugongs surface to breathe, hold their calves to nurse, and have flexible flippers, which fits many old accounts.
Are sirens the same as mermaids?
Originally no. In Greek myth sirens were part bird. They merged with mermaids in later European tradition, which is why the Spanish and French words for mermaid mean siren.