Mermaid

How to spell mermaid

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce mermaid

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mermaid mean?

1. nounA mythical sea creature with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish.

Mermaid in a sentence

• The children dressed as a mermaid for the seaside parade.

• Old sailors claimed a mermaid sat singing on the rocks near the harbour.

Where does mermaid come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Mermaid is a native English compound, joining the Old English word 'mere', meaning a lake, pool, or stretch of sea, with 'maid', a shortened form of 'maiden' meaning a young unmarried woman. The first element survives elsewhere in English in words like 'mere' for a small lake, so the creature is literally a 'sea maid'. The compound is recorded from around the fourteenth century, describing the legendary half-woman, half-fish beings of sailors' folklore. Although the 'mer' part looks like the French word 'mer' for sea, the link here runs through native Germanic vocabulary rather than direct French borrowing. The spelling trap is the 'mer' opening rather than 'mar' or 'mur', since the unstressed vowel can sound vague when spoken.

How the word is built

• mer- (sea, from Old English mere: lake or sea)
• maid (young woman, maiden)