noun

1. Gr. & Rom. Myth. any of several sea nymphs, represented as part bird and part woman, who lure sailors to their death on rocky coasts by seductive singing
2. a woman who uses her sexual attractiveness to entice or allure men; a woman who is considered seductive
3. 1. an acoustical device in which steam or air is driven against a rotating, perforated disk so as to produce sound; specif., such a device producing a loud, often wailing sound, used esp. as a warning signal
   2. an electronic device that produces a similar sound
4. any of a family (Sirenidae) of slender, eel-shaped salamanders without hind legs; esp., the mud eel

Etymology: ME syrene < OFr < LL Sirena, for L Siren < Gr Seirēn < ? seira, cord, rope (hence, orig. ? one who snares, entangles) < IE base *twer-, to grasp