medusa
Syllables: Me·dus·a/mɪˈdjuːsə//məˈduːsə/
medusa noun: a jellyfish; specifically, a non-polyp form of individual cnidarians, consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles.
Noun
medusa (plural medusas or medusae or (obsolete) medusæ)
- A jellyfish; specifically, a non-polyp form of individual cnidarians, consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles.
- Typically, what we think of as the jellyfish, the medusa, reproduces sexually, spawning sperm and eggs which, once fertilised, turn into sea anemone-like polyps, which attach themselves to the jellyfish’s bottom or other surfaces.2014, Theo Tait, ‘Water-Borne Zombies’, London Review of Books, volume 36, number 5
- Synonyms:
- non-polyp form of cnidarian
- Synonym of worm-star.
- Synonyms:
- worm-star
Proper noun capitalized: Medusa
Medusa
- The youngest and only mortal of the three gorgon sisters, killed by Perseus.
- On an Attic vase of the middle of the fifth century the head of Medusa in the hand of Perseus is represented as that of a beautiful woman free from any distortion. This led us to conclude (supra, p. 158) that Medusa must have been so represented at Athens in the greater arts even previous to this...1895, Adolf Furtwängler, Eugenie Strong (editor and translator), Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture: A Series of Essays on the History of Art, 2010, →ISBN, page 201
- It will be suggested here that the myth of Perseus, involving the decapitation of Medusa, is a narrative version of ritual.2000, Nannó Marinatos, The Goddess and the Warrior: The Naked Goddess and Mistress of the Animals in Early Greek Religion, page 62
medusa meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
medusa in Hindi
- मेडुसा, मेडूसा
medusa in Tamil
- cnidarian
- மெதூசா metūcā
medusa in Marathi
- मेडुसा, मेडूसा, मेड्युसा
medusa in Urdu
- میدوسا
More languagesFewer languages
- medusa in Bengali
- মেডুসা, মেডিউসা, মেদুসা
- medusa in Telugu
- మెడుసా, మెడూసా, మెదుసా
- medusa in Malayalam
- മെഡുസ, മെഡുസാ
- medusa in Kannada
- ಮೆಡುಸಾ, ಮೇಡುಸಾ, ಮೆದುಸಾ
- medusa in Punjabi
- ਮੈਡੂਸਾ, ਮੈਡੁਸਾ, ਮੇਡੂਸਾ
- medusa in Gujarati
- મેડુસા, મેડ્યુસા, મેડૂસા
- medusa in Odia
- ମେଡୁସା, ମେଡ୍ଯ଼ୁସା
- medusa in Nepali
- मेडुसा, मेड्युसा, मेडूसा
Synonyms of medusa
- non-polyp form of cnidarian
- worm-star
Forms of medusa
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | medusas |
| plural | medusae |
| plural (obsolete) | medusæ |
| Proper noun | |
| alternative form | Medousa |
Origin of medusa
By appellativization from Medusa.
From Middle English Medusa, Meduse, from Latin Medūsa, from Ancient Greek Μέδουσα (Médousa), from μέδω (médō, “rule over”).
Words formed from medusa
Phrases with medusa
Words that rhyme with medusa
Questions about medusa
- What does medusa mean?
- Medusa means a jellyfish; specifically, a non-polyp form of individual cnidarians, consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles.
- What is medusa in Hindi?
- Medusa in Hindi is मेडुसा, मेडूसा. See Medusa meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is medusa?
- Medusa can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce medusa?
- Medusa is pronounced /mɪˈdjuːsə/.
- What is the plural of medusa?
- The plural of medusa is medusas.
Words near medusa in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: medusa (page history and authors); Medusa (page history and authors); medusa (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); medusa (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-medusa.wav, En-us-Medusa.oga.
Cite this entry: “medusa.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/medusa. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.