Me ‧ du ‧ sa /mɪˈdjuːzə $ -ˈduːsə/ BrE AmE
in ancient Greek ↑ mythology , a woman who had snakes instead of hair and turned everyone who looked at her into stone. She was killed by Perseus, who used his shiny ↑ shield (=a metal object carried by soldiers to protect themselves) as a mirror so that he did not have to look at her directly, and cut off her head. ⇨ ↑ gorgon