sirène

Sirène is a term used in French to denote a mythic sea creature, commonly rendered in English as mermaid, and it also designates a loud signaling device such as an alarm. The word comes from Greek seirēn, via Latin sirena and Old French sirene.

In classical myth, sirènes are sea-nymphs who lure sailors with their songs. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus orders his crew to seal their ears with wax while he, bound to the mast, can hear the songs without succumbing to them. In different traditions the sirènes are imagined as daughters of Phorcys and Ceto; depending on era and region, they may be depicted as half-woman, half-bird, or more typically as mermaids. Over time, European art and literature contributed to merging the figure with mermaids, producing the familiar image of a female swimmer with a fishtail.

In contemporary usage, sirène can refer to the folkloric creature or, metaphorically, to something alluring but potentially dangerous, as in a seductive call or “siren song.” The term also designates a signaling device that emits a loud warning tone, used by police, fire, or civil defense equipment. The mermaid motif has influenced literature, theater, and cinema, while the siren as a warning signal remains a common everyday term in French.