medusa Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (Greek mythology) a woman transformed into a Gorgon by Athena; she was slain by Perseus
  2. noun one of two forms that coelenterates take: it is the free-swimming sexual phase in the life cycle of a coelenterate; in this phase it has a gelatinous umbrella-shaped body and tentacles
    medusoid; medusan.

WordNet

Me*du"sa noun
Etymology
L., fr. Gr. .
Definitions
  1. (Class. Myth.) The Gorgon; or one of the Gorgons whose hair was changed into serpents, after which all who looked upon her were turned into stone.
  2. pl. Medusae (Zoöl.) Any free swimming acaleph; a jellyfish. ✍ The larger medusæ belong to the Discophora, and are sometimes called covered-eyed medusæ; others, known as naked-eyed medusæ, belong to the Hydroidea, and are usually developed by budding from hidroids. See Discophora, Hydroidea, and Hydromedusa.

Webster 1913