Search Result for "medusa": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. (Greek mythology) a woman transformed into a Gorgon by Athena; she was slain by Perseus;

2. one of two forms that coelenterates take: it is the free-swimming sexual phase in the life cycle of a coelenterate; in this phase it has a gelatinous umbrella-shaped body and tentacles;
[syn: medusa, medusoid, medusan]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Medusa \Me*du"sa\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?.] 1. (Class. Myth.) The Gorgon; or one of the Gorgons whose hair was changed into serpents, after which all who looked upon her were turned into stone. [1913 Webster] 2. [pl. Medusae.] (Zool.) Any free swimming acaleph; a jellyfish. [1913 Webster] Note: The larger medusae belong to the Discophora, and are sometimes called covered-eyed medusae; others, known as naked-eyed medusae, belong to the Hydroidea, and are usually developed by budding from hydroids. See Discophora, Hydroidea, and Hydromedusa. [1913 Webster] Medusa bud (Zool.), one of the buds of a hydroid, destined to develop into a gonophore or medusa. See Athecata, and Gonotheca. Medusa's head. (a) (Zool.) An astrophyton. (b) (Astron.) A cluster of stars in the constellation Perseus. It contains the bright star Algol. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

Medusa n 1: (Greek mythology) a woman transformed into a Gorgon by Athena; she was slain by Perseus 2: one of two forms that coelenterates take: it is the free- swimming sexual phase in the life cycle of a coelenterate; in this phase it has a gelatinous umbrella-shaped body and tentacles [syn: medusa, medusoid, medusan]