Hypertext Webster Gateway: "mermaid"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Mermaid \Mer"maid\, n. [AS. mere lake, sea. See {Mere} lake, and
{maid}.]
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.
Note: Chaucer uses this word as equivalent to the siren of
the ancients.
{Mermaid fish} (Zo["o]l.) the angel fish ({Squatina}).
{Mermaid's glove} (Zo["o]l.), a British branched sponge
somewhat resembling a glove.
{Mermaid's head} (Zo["o]l.), a European spatangoid sea urchin
({Echinocardium cordatum}) having some resemblance to a
skull.
{Mermaid weed} (Bot.), an aquatic herb with dentate or
pectinate leaves ({Proserpinaca palustris} and {P.
pectinacea}).
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
mermaid
n : half woman and half fish; lives in the sea
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