From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sense was originally introduced by Linnaeus in 1766, for a genus of his reptiles.
From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sense was originally introduced by Linnaeus in 1766, for a genus of his reptiles.
Meanings
(Greek) One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.
Now give ear to what I'm about to say to you, / and a god himself will bring it before your mind. / First, you will come to the Sirens. / These beings enthrall all men who arrive before them. […] 2008 October 7, Homer, The Odyssey, North Atlantic Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 278:
One who sings sweetly and charms.
A dangerously seductive woman.
A member of Sirenia, an order of mammals.
A member of a genus of aquatic salamanders of the family Sirenidae, commonly used for all species in the family Sirenidae.
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Hestina.
A device, either mechanical or electronic, that makes a piercingly loud sound as an alarm or signal, or the sound from such a device.
My attention was diverted from this sight by a furious yelling, like that of the thing called a siren in our manufacturing towns. 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 103:
1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave.
There goes the siren that warns of the air raid / Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak / Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne / Got to get up for the coming attack.
A musical instrument, one of the few aerophones in the percussion section of the symphony orchestra (patented as Acme Siren in 1895).
An instrument for demonstrating the laws of beats and combination tones.
An astrophysical event that can be used for calculating cosmic distances.
vamp (dangerously seductive woman) · crooner (one who sings sweetly and charms) · klaxon (device for making a sound alarm) · sirenian
Translations (151)
pl gwizdek (musical instrument) · eo sireno (nymph of Greek mythology) · ro sirenă (device for making a sound alarm) · he סִּירֵנה (nymph of Greek mythology) · ja 妖婦 (dangerously seductive woman) · sh siren (salamander) · cmn 妖女 (dangerously seductive woman) · da sirene (device for making a sound alarm) · lv sirēna (nymph of Greek mythology) · ko 요부 (dangerously seductive woman) · ga Síréana (nymph of Greek mythology) · fr sirène (salamander) · cmn 女海妖 (nymph of Greek mythology) · hu sziréna (device for making a sound alarm) · bg сире́на (nymph of Greek mythology) · ca sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · et sireen (device for making a sound alarm) · gl sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · id sirene (device for making a sound alarm) · vi tiên chim (nymph of Greek mythology) · es sirena (nymph of Greek mythology) · lv sirēna (device for making a sound alarm) · io sireno (dangerously seductive woman) · vi xi-ren (device for making a sound alarm) · fi pilli (musical instrument) · vi còi điện (device for making a sound alarm) · grc Σειρήν (nymph of Greek mythology) · pt sirene (device for making a sound alarm) · ko 사이렌 (device for making a sound alarm) · pl syrena (dangerously seductive woman) · es sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · kk гудок (device for making a sound alarm) · pt sereia (nymph of Greek mythology) · gl serea (nymph of Greek mythology) · ja 警笛 (device for making a sound alarm) · ru сире́на (dangerously seductive woman) · ar سِيرَانَة (nymph of Greek mythology) · cy cyfareddwraig (nymph of Greek mythology) · ru обворожи́тельница (dangerously seductive woman) · ar صَفّارَة (device for making a sound alarm) · cy cyfareddwragedd (nymph of Greek mythology) · kk сирена (nymph of Greek mythology) · el σειρήνα (nymph of Greek mythology) · it sirena (nymph of Greek mythology) · ast sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · ky сирена (nymph of Greek mythology) · el Σειρήνα (nymph of Greek mythology) · hy սիրեն (device for making a sound alarm) · sh sirena (nymph of Greek mythology) · nn sirene (nymph of Greek mythology) · fa-ira آژیر (device for making a sound alarm) · ca sirena (nymph of Greek mythology) · cmn 妖婦 /妖妇 (dangerously seductive woman) · sh сире́на (dangerously seductive woman) · sq gjysmëzog (nymph of Greek mythology) · ru обольсти́тельница (dangerously seductive woman) · sh siréna (dangerously seductive woman) · ja セイレーン (nymph of Greek mythology) · nl sirene (device for making a sound alarm) · ru гудо́к (device for making a sound alarm) · ast serena (nymph of Greek mythology) · pt sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · pl syrena (salamander) · nb sirene (nymph of Greek mythology) · sh сирен (salamander) · la Sīrēn (nymph of Greek mythology) · nl sirene (dangerously seductive woman) · ja 警報機 (device for making a sound alarm) · io sireno (device for making a sound alarm) · sh сире́на (device for making a sound alarm) · sh сирена (nymph of Greek mythology) · de Sirene (nymph of Greek mythology) · fi sireeni (device for making a sound alarm) · th ไซเรน (nymph of Greek mythology) · el σειρήνα (dangerously seductive woman) · da sirene (nymph of Greek mythology) · fa-ira سیرِن (nymph of Greek mythology) · cmn 塞壬 (nymph of Greek mythology) · be сірэ́на (device for making a sound alarm) · pa ਸਾਇਰਨ (nymph of Greek mythology) · fr sirène (device for making a sound alarm) · uk сире́на (nymph of Greek mythology) · io sireno (nymph of Greek mythology) · cmn 賽蓮 /赛莲 (nymph of Greek mythology) · fi seireeni (nymph of Greek mythology) · ja サイレン (device for making a sound alarm) · ja 号笛 (device for making a sound alarm) · ca sirena (dangerously seductive woman) · ko 세이렌 (nymph of Greek mythology) · uk сире́на (device for making a sound alarm) · az pəri (nymph of Greek mythology) · sw kingora (device for making a sound alarm) · fi seireeni (dangerously seductive woman) · th ไซเรน (device for making a sound alarm) · cmn 妖精 (dangerously seductive woman) · nl sirene (nymph of Greek mythology) · sv siren (device for making a sound alarm) · fr sirène (nymph of Greek mythology) · ast sirena (nymph of Greek mythology) · be сірэ́на (nymph of Greek mythology) · sh siréna (device for making a sound alarm) · pl syrena (mammal) · ja 妖女 (dangerously seductive woman) · sq sirenë (nymph of Greek mythology) · fr sirène (dangerously seductive woman) · ja 警報器 (device for making a sound alarm) · eo sireno (dangerously seductive woman) · bg сире́на (device for making a sound alarm) · cmn 汽笛 (device for making a sound alarm) · pl syrena (device for making a sound alarm) · fi sireenieläin (mammal) · ru сире́на (nymph of Greek mythology) · is sírena (device for making a sound alarm) · mi haona whakatūpato (device for making a sound alarm) · sv siren (nymph of Greek mythology) · ga bonnán (device for making a sound alarm) · tr siren (device for making a sound alarm) · ast serena (device for making a sound alarm) · pt sirena (nymph of Greek mythology) · ko 경보기 (device for making a sound alarm) · eo sireno (device for making a sound alarm) · az sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · de Sirene (device for making a sound alarm) · nb sirene (device for making a sound alarm) · pl syrena (nymph of Greek mythology) · tg бурғу (device for making a sound alarm) · hu szirén (nymph of Greek mythology) · vi còi máy (device for making a sound alarm) · gd dùdach (device for making a sound alarm) · lt sirenà (device for making a sound alarm) · sq sirenë (device for making a sound alarm) · fi mutalisko (salamander) · ru сире́на (device for making a sound alarm) · ru соблазни́тельница (dangerously seductive woman) · hy ծովահարս (nymph of Greek mythology) · it sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · ru прельсти́тельница (dangerously seductive woman) · nn sirene (device for making a sound alarm) · el σειρήνα (device for making a sound alarm) · cmn 警報器 /警报器 (device for making a sound alarm) · tg ожир (device for making a sound alarm) · pt sereia (dangerously seductive woman) · ga banchealgaire (dangerously seductive woman) · lt sirenà (nymph of Greek mythology) · he אַזְעָקָה (device for making a sound alarm) · cs siréna (device for making a sound alarm) · uz sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · bg прелъсти́телка (dangerously seductive woman) · ka სირენა (device for making a sound alarm) · mt sirena (device for making a sound alarm) · tr siren (nymph of Greek mythology)
From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sense was originally introduced by Linnaeus in 1766, for a genus of his reptiles.
Meanings
(intransitive) To make a noise with, or as if with, a siren.