siren Meaning, Definition & Usage

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
noun a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive
temptress; Delilah; enchantress; femme fatale.
noun a warning signal that is a loud wailing sound
noun an acoustic device producing a loud often wailing sound as a signal or warning
noun eellike aquatic North American salamander with small forelimbs and no hind limbs; have permanent external gills

L., fr. Gr. : cf. F. sirène.

(Class. Myth.) 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.
An enticing, dangerous woman. Shak.
Something which is insidious or deceptive.
Consumption is a siren. W. Irving.
A mermaid. Obs. Shak.
(Zoöl.) Any long, slender amphibian of the genus Siren or family Sirenidæ, 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 color, and becames two feet long.
F. sirène, properly, a siren in sense 1. (Acoustics) 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. Written also sirene, and syren.

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