Main Entry: ¹si·ren

Pronunciation: \ˈsī-rən, for 3 also sī-ˈrēn\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French sereine, from Late Latin sirena, from Latin siren, from Greek seirēn

Date: 14th century

1 often capitalized : any of a group of female and partly human creatures in Greek mythology that lured mariners to destruction by their singing
2 a : a woman who sings with enchanting sweetness b : temptress c : temptation 2
3 a : an apparatus producing musical tones especially in acoustical studies by the rapid interruption of a current of air, steam, or fluid by a perforated rotating disk b : a device often electrically operated for producing a penetrating warning sound <an ambulance siren> <an air-raid siren>
4 [New Latin, from Latin] : either of two North American eel-shaped amphibians that constitute a genus (Siren) and have small forelimbs but neither hind legs nor pelvis and have permanent external gills as well as lungs