mermaid
English · Thesaurus
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mermaid
- /ˈmɜːˌmeɪd/ UK
- /ˈmɝ.meɪd/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle English mermayde (“maid of the sea”), from mere (“sea, lake”) + maid, equivalent to mer- + maid. Cognate with Dutch meermeid (“mermaid”), Middle High German mermaget, mermeit (“mermaid”, > German Meermagd, Meermädchen (“mermaid”)). Compare Old English meremenn, meremennen, meremenin (“mermaid, siren”).
noun mermaids
- A mythological creature with a woman's head and upper body, and a tail of a fish. Search the depth, & ſee that variety of Sea monſters & fiſhes, Mare-maids, Sea men, Horſes, &c. which it affords.
- Coloured a brilliant turquoise. a mermaid smoothie
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A prostitute.
A Gentleman or an honeſt Cittizen, ſhall not Sit in your pennie-bench Theaters, vvith his Squirrell by his ſide cracking nuttes; nor ſneake into a Tauerne vvith his Mermaid; but he ſhall be Satyr'd and Epigram'd vpon, and his humour muſt run vpo'th Stage: […]
Similar: hooker, lady of the night, abandons, alley cat, almah, bangtail, Bankside lady, bargirl, bat, beotch, blouze, blowen
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: horn, burglar, hell, siren, reverse mermaid, merfolk, mercreature, merwoman, fiji mermaid, mer-creature, merman, mermother, merwife, merbeast, merlady, merqueen
Translations
Every language
noun mythological woman with a fish’s tail
| Español | bicha, bestión |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 인어 ineo |
| 日本語 | 人魚 ningyo |
| 中文 | 人魚 /人鱼 rényú, 美人魚 /美人鱼 měirényú |
| हिन्दी | जलपरी jalparī, मत्स्यांगना matsyāṅgnā |
| Português | sereia |
| Français | sirène |
| Deutsch | Nixe, Wassernixe, Seejungfrau, Meerjungfrau |
| Italiano | sirena |
| Ελληνικά | γοργόνα gorgóna, σειρήνα seirína |
| Română | sirenă |
| Русский | руса́лка rusálka, сире́на siréna, ная́да najáda, морска́я де́ва morskája déva |
| Tiếng Việt | nhân ngư, người cá, mỹ nhân ngư, tiên cá, nàng tiên cá |
| العربية | خَيَلَان ḵayalān, اِبْنَة الْبَحْر, حُورِيَّة الْبَحْر, عَرُوسَة الْبَحْر, حُورِيَّة الْمَاء |
| עברית | בַּת יָם |
Talk about this word "mermaid." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mermaid. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mermaid. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mermaid "mermaid." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mermaid.Cite this
@misc{mermaid_2026,
title = {mermaid},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mermaid},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
