or mermaid emoji
[mur-meyd ih-moh-jee]
What does 🧜♀️ mean?
The mermaid emoji depicts a mermaid, a mythical woman with the tail of a fish instead of legs. It is used in text messages and on social media to mark content dealing with the ocean, swimming, feminine beauty, and, well, mermaids.
Related words:
- Ariel
- Merman
- Sirens
- The Little Mermaid
- Water wave emoji
Examples of 
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Examples of
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Where does come from?
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Mermaids come from ancient folklore dating back at least as far as 1000 BCE in ancient Assyria. These stories describe beautiful women with the tail of fish who lure unwitting mortal men to their deaths.
The mer- in mermaid, by the way, is from an Old English word for the “sea.”
A much friendlier mermaid came into contemporary popular culture with the 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid starring Ariel, itself a very liberal adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s 1836 fairy tale.
And, finally the mermaid emoji was added to Emoji 5.0 in 2017. Older platforms may not support the emoji, so the mermaid emoji may show up as a default merperson emoji plus the female sign emoji—or just pop up as one of those □ or � replacement characters.
The appearance of the mermaid is different across platforms but the emoji always depicts a woman with long, flowing hair and that telltale fish tail. On several keyboards, like Apple, she has a seashell top, an exposed midriff, and brightly colored hair. She may even seem to be waving a friendly—or luring—hello.
Who uses ?
The mermaid emoji is used in social-media posts when talking about mermaid-related topics, including their mythology and mermaid-inspired performances.
You can watch real-life mermaids perform underwater tricks at this casino in Las Vegas 🧜♀️ pic.twitter.com/V3Y4PAyloB
— INSIDER (@thisisinsider) May 4, 2018
Others use the mermaid emoji as a form of personal expression, indicating they are fond of the creature and mythology. This extends to lovers of Disney’s Little Mermaid and its songs (under da sea!) and characters as well as to artists who like to draw mermaids.
Finished this mermaid inspired portrait last night! It’s officially #mermay!! I love this time of year where my feed gets filled with mermaids 🐚🧜♀️ pic.twitter.com/V2J5vjrprl
— Rossdraws (@Rossdraws) May 1, 2018
The mermaid emoji may accompany texts and tweets about the ocean, swimming, enjoying a day by the water, or rocking swimsuit bods for summer.
love your body. ✨🧜♀️ pic.twitter.com/mM70CLoiDc
— maria (@mxridutra) April 30, 2018
As popular depictions of mermaids often include shimmering and watery blues, greens, pinks, and purples, fashion and beauty enthusiasts may add the mermaid emoji when posting pics of makeup and hair done in those colors.
Can we just stop and stare at this talented lady? 😍🙌💘@havrri showed us how our childhood dream to be a mermaid is possible 🧜♀️🌊✨
You have amazing skills and you are slaying the makeup game 👑 pic.twitter.com/jk73mWGH68— Miss SLAY (@ShopMissSlay) May 2, 2018