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The etymology of the name is contested. [[Robert S. P. Beekes]] has suggested a [[Pre-Greek]] origin.<ref>Robert S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 1316 f.</ref> Others connect the name to σειρά (''seirá'', "rope, cord") and εἴρω (''eírō'', "to tie, join, fasten"), resulting in the meaning "binder, entangler",<ref>Cf. the [[wikt:siren|entry in Wiktionary]] and the [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Siren entry] in the ''Online Etymology Dictionary''.</ref>{{better source needed|note=neither Wiktionary nor the Online Etymology Dictionary are reliable sources|date=October 2020}} i.e. one who binds or entangles through magic song. This could be connected to the famous scene of [[Odysseus]] being bound to the [[Mast (sailing)|mast]] of his ship, in order to resist their song.<ref>Homer, ''Odyssey'', book 12.</ref>
Sirens were later often used as a synonym for [[mermaid]]s, and portrayed with upper human bodies and fish tails. This combination became iconic in the medieval period.<ref name="harrison"/><ref name="Mittman Dendle 2016 p. 352">{{cite book |last1=Mittman |first1=Asa Simon |title=The Ashgate research companion to monsters and the monstrous |last2=Dendle |first2=Peter J |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=9781351894326 |location=London |page=352 |oclc=1021205658}}</ref> The circumstances leading to the commingling involve the treatment of sirens in the medieval ''[[Physiologus]]'' and [[Bestiary|bestiaries]], both iconographically,{{sfnp|Holford-Strevens|2006|pp=31–34}} as well as textually in translations from Latin to vulgar languages,{{efn|[[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|meremanniu}} in the OHG ''Physiologus'', and [[Middle English]] ''merman'' 'mermaid', in the ME ''Bestiary''.}}{{sfnp|Pakis|2010|pp=126–127}} as described below.
== Iconography ==
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