ˈmər, ˈmə̄+ˌ- noun
Etymology: Middle English mermaide, from mer- (I) + maide maid — more at maid
1.
a. : a fabled marine creature usually represented as having the head, trunk, and arms of a woman and a lower part like the tail of a fish
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each — T.S.Eliot
— compare nix
b. : a girl swimmer
sat by the pool … and watched the mermaids in the seventy-six-degree November sun — Horace Sutton
2. : a representation of a mermaid usually holding a mirror in one hand and a comb in the other especially as a heraldic emblem or the sign of an inn or tavern
3. obsolete
a. : siren 1 a
b. : harlot
4. : a grayish yellow green that is yellower and paler than average sage green or palmetto and yellower and darker than celadon
5. : sirenomelus
6. : sirenian ; especially : manatee