Dictionary

mersnake en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈmɜː(ɹ)sneɪk/

Etymology

From mer- + snake. Compare Middle English mereneddre (“sea-snake, lamprey”), from Old English merenǣddra, merenǣddre, merenǣdre (“lamprey, sea snake”, literally “sea-adder”).

Meanings

1. A sea snake.
   • I asked casually while we walked past a few buildings with split columns painted with a pit of mersnakes eating raw flesh. 1989, Arthur Byron Cover, Stationfall:
   • The first drowned in a cthulhoid's multitentacular clasp, the second was poisoned by multiple mersnake bites, and the third bled to death after his flesh was seared and scarified by a shoal of lumpreys. 2005, Brian M. Stableford, Donna Scott, Gabriel Strange, Curse of the Coral Bride:
2. A mermaid snake.

Forms