SIREN • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Siren

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/sˈaɪrən/ Listen

noun

Siren n.

1.

(Class. Myth.) One of three sea nymphs, or, according to some writers, of two, said to frequent an island near the coast of Italy, and to sing with such sweetness that they lured mariners to destruction. "Next where the sirens dwell you plow the seas; Their song is death, and makes destruction please."

2.

An enticing, dangerous woman.

3.

Something which is insidious or deceptive. "Consumption is a siren."

4.

A mermaid. (Obs.)

5.

(Zool.) Any long, slender amphibian of the genus Siren or family Sirenidae, destitute of hind legs and pelvis, and having permanent external gills as well as lungs. They inhabit the swamps, lagoons, and ditches of the Southern United States. The more common species (Siren lacertina) is dull lead-gray in color, and becames two feet long.

6.

(Acoustics) An instrument for producing musical tones and for ascertaining the number of sound waves or vibrations per second which produce a note of a given pitch. The sounds are produced by a perforated rotating disk or disks. A form with two disks operated by steam or highly compressed air is used sounding an alarm to vessels in fog. (Written also sirene, and syren)

adjective

Siren adj. Of or pertaining to a siren; bewitching, like a siren; fascinating; alluring; as, a siren song.

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Etymology of 'Siren'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Siren" Quotes from Famous Books

... sentence was lost in the wild shriek of a siren, shriek after shriek succeeding each other as a big car, with far-reaching acetylene lamps, roared down upon them. Like a mighty whirlwind it swept by them, careening perilously on the sloping edge of the road. Suddenly the grinding of brakes assailed the ears of the thanksgiving ...

— Anderson Crow, Detective • George Barr McCutcheon

... application, during which he in a manner tied himself to the mast, had laid the seeds of a lurking malady in his system, and produced a severe illness in the course of the summer. Town life was not favorable to the health either of body or mind. He could not resist the siren voice of temptation, which, now that he had become a notoriety, assailed him on every side. Accordingly we find him launching away in a career of social dissipation; dining and supping out; at clubs, at routs, at theaters; he ...

— Oliver Goldsmith • Washington Irving

... blocks away. In spite of himself, he was startled with its suddenness, and he stood tensed and waiting for the dismal hoots that would tell what ward the fire was in. One—two—three, croaked the siren like a giant ...

— Starr, of the Desert • B. M Bower

... gained, never for one brief moment calm, even at its lowest ebb—now, on this last night of the long, weary week, all the currents and counter-currents of the worker's world were suddenly released. At the stroke of bell, at the clang of deep-mouthed gong, at the scream of siren whistle, the sluice-gates were lifted from the great human reservoirs of factory and shop and office, and their myriad toilers burst forth with the cumulative violence of six ...

— The Long Day - The Story of a New York Working Girl As Told by Herself • Dorothy Richardson

... opening among the lowered umbrellas, he stepped off the curb and dashed for the street car. He was almost by its side when the hoarse sound of a motor siren smote his ear, and glancing sideways, he saw a touring car bearing down upon him at full speed. In trying to spring backward his foot slipped on the wet asphalt and he sprawled forward on his knees. The automobile was almost upon him when strong hands jerked him safely ...

— I Spy • Natalie Sumner Lincoln

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