| sire | 1. A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. "Pain and distress, sickness and ire, And melancholy that angry sire, Be of her palace senators." (Rom. Of R) 2. A tittle of respect formerly used in speaking to elders and superiors, but now only in addressing a sovereign. 3. A father; the head of a family; the husband. "Jankin thet was our sire [i.e, husband]" (Chaucer) "And raise his issue, like a loving sire." (Shak) 4. A creator; a maker; an author; an originator. "[He] was the sire of an immortal strain." (Shelley) 5. The male parent of a beast; applied especially to horses; as, the horse had a good sire. Sire is often used in composition; as in grandsire, grandfather; great-grandsire, great-grandfather. Origin: F. Sire, originally, an older person. See Sir. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| siredon | <zoology> The larval form of any salamander while it still has external gills; especially, one of those which, like the axolotl (Amblystoma Mexicanum), sometimes lay eggs while in this larval state, but which under more favorable conditions lose their gills and become normal salamanders. See also Axolotl. Origin: NL, from Gr. A siren. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| siren | 1. 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." (Pope) 2. An enticing, dangerous woman. 3. Something which is insidious or deceptive. "Consumption is a siren." (W. Irving) 4. A mermaid. 5. <zoology> 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 colour, and becames two feet long. 6. [F. Sirene, properly, a siren in sense 1. <physics> 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. Alternative forms: sirene, and syren. Origin: L, fr. Gr., cf. F. Sirene. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| sirenia | <zoology> An order of large aquatic herbivorous mammals, including the manatee, dugong, rytina, and several fossil genera. The hind limbs are either rudimentary or wanting, and the front ones are changed to paddles. They have horny plates on the front part of the jaws, and usually flat-crowned molar teeth. The stomach is complex and the intestine long, as in other herbivorous mammals. See Cetacea . Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| sirenian | <zoology> Any species of Sirenia. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| sireniform | Denoting a malformation with the appearance of sirenomelia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sirenomelia | Union of the legs with partial or complete fusion of the feet. See: sympus. Synonym: mermaid deformity, symmelia. Origin: L. Siren, G. Seiren, a siren (05 Mar 2000) |