siren

[sahy-ruhn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR siren ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Classical Mythology. one of several sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, who lure mariners to destruction by their seductive singing.

a seductively beautiful or charming woman, especially one who beguiles men: a siren of the silver screen.

an acoustical instrument for producing musical tones, consisting essentially of a disk pierced with holes arranged equidistantly in a circle, rotated over a jet or stream of compressed air, steam, or the like, so that the stream is alternately interrupted and allowed to pass.

an implement of this kind used as a whistle, fog signal, or warning device.

any of several aquatic, eellike salamanders of the family Sirenidae, having permanent external gills, small forelimbs, and no posterior limbs.

adjective

of or like a siren.

seductive or tempting, especially dangerously or harmfully: the siren call of adventure.

verb (used without object)

to go with the siren sounding, as a fire engine.

verb (used with object)

to allure in the manner of a siren.

Origin of siren

1300–50; Middle English sereyn < Old French sereine < Late Latin Sīrēna, Latin Sīrēn < Greek Seirḗn

Related formssi·ren·like, adjective

Synonyms for siren

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR siren ON THESAURUS.COM

2. seductress, temptress, vamp.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for siren

Contemporary Examples of siren

That song would soon morph from the jaunty clip of the light rail to the siren sounds of jazz.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History
Katie Baker
October 24, 2014
Year after year, our children fall prey to the siren that is heroin.
Heroin: America’s Silent Assassin
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Robert M. Lober, MD, PhD
February 3, 2014
Few of us are immune to the siren calls of awesome stuff (or just a better school district for the kids).
Ask the Blogger
Megan McArdle
December 3, 2012
I spent most of the day inwardly bracing myself for the piercing shriek of a siren to break the silence of the city.
Overcast With A Chance Of Rockets
Ehud Zion Waldoks
November 23, 2012
Yesterday, denizens of Tel Aviv scrambled for cover when a siren went off around midday.
Israel vs. Gaza: a Tale of Two Battlefields
Dan Ephron
November 17, 2012

Historical Examples of siren

The ancient name of Naples, from the siren Parthenope, who is said to be buried there.
Quintus Claudius, Volume 1 of 2
Ernst Eckstein
As the big craft, dipping her ensign and blowing her siren, heaved ahead, a shout of enthusiasm went up.
The Boy Aviators' Flight for a Fortune
Wilbur Lawton
Then they bent to their oars with giant strokes, and in a little while were safe under the Siren's guns.
Twelve Naval Captains
Molly Elliot Seawell
It was the vessel's siren blowing a greeting to the young adventurers of the air.
The Girl Aviators' Sky Cruise
Margaret Burnham
It possesses, moreover, a moo which is a blend between a ship's siren and a taxicab's honk syringe.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, January 28th, 1920
Various

British Dictionary definitions for siren

siren

noun

a device for emitting a loud wailing sound, esp as a warning or signal, typically consisting of a rotating perforated metal drum through which air or steam is passed under pressure

(sometimes capital) Greek myth one of several sea nymphs whose seductive singing was believed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks the nymphs inhabited

a woman considered to be dangerously alluring or seductive
(as modifier)her siren charms

any aquatic eel-like salamander of the North American family Sirenidae, having external gills, no hind limbs, and reduced forelimbs

Word Origin for siren

C14: from Old French sereine, from Latin sīrēn, from Greek seirēn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for siren

mid-14c., "sea nymph who by her singing lures sailors to their destruction," from Old French sereine (12c., Modern French sirène) and directly from Latin Siren (Late Latin Sirena), from Greek Seiren ["Odyssey," xii.39 ff.], one of the Seirenes, mythical sisters who enticed sailors to their deaths with their songs, also in Greek "a deceitful woman," perhaps literally "binder, entangler," from seira "cord, rope."

Meaning "device that makes a warning sound" (on an ambulance, etc.) first recorded 1879, in reference to steamboats, perhaps from similar use of the French word. Figurative sense of "one who sings sweetly and charms" is recorded from 1580s. The classical descriptions of them were mangled in medieval translations and glosses, resulting in odd notions of what they looked like.

siren

noun

adjective

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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Origin of siren

Synonyms for siren

Examples from the Web for siren

Contemporary Examples of siren

Historical Examples of siren

siren

noun

Word Origin for siren