n.
Pronunciation: ' s ī -r ə n, for 3 also s ī - ' r ē n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French sereine, from Late Latin sirena, from Latin siren, from Greek seir ē n
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 L] : either of two No. 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