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Si·ren (sīrən)
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n.
1. Greek Mythology One of a group of sea nymphs who by their sweet singing lured mariners to destruction on the rocks surrounding their island.
2. siren A woman regarded as irresistibly alluring.
[Middle English serein, from Old French sereine; see SIREN.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
si·ren (sīrən)
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n.
1.
a. A device in which compressed air or steam is driven against a rotating perforated disk to create a loud, often wailing sound as a signal or warning.
b. An electronic device producing a similar sound as a signal or warning: a police car siren.
2. Any of several slender aquatic salamanders of the family Sirenidae of eastern North America, having external gills, small forelimbs, and no hind limbs.
[French sirène, from Old French sereine, Siren, from Late Latin Sīrēna, from Latin Sīrēn, from Greek Seirēn.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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