mermaid Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun half woman and half fish; lives in the sea

WordNet

Mer"maid noun
Etymology
AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.
Definitions
  1. A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish. ✍ Chaucer uses this word as equivalent to the siren of the ancients.

Webster 1913