the.com/merman
half the legend, twice the overlooked — fish from the waist down, ego from the neck up
means A mythical sea-dwelling male creature with a human upper body and a fish's tail, the male counterpart to a mermaid.
from A plain English compound of "mer" and "man," built on the same logic as "mermaid." The "mer" comes from Old English "mere," meaning sea or lake — a word with deep Germanic roots, a cousin of Latin "mare" (sea) and the source of the "mar-" in "marine" and "maritime." So literally a "sea-man." The female "mermaid" (mere + maid) is recorded far earlier and more often; "merman" trails behind it as a back-formed partner, the legend's overlooked plus-one.
- ancient name
- Babylonians worshipped Oannes, a fish-man, before 1000 BC
- royal blood
- sea god Triton was Poseidon's merman son
- merrow lore
- Irish mermen were famously ugly, green-toothed creatures
- hoax fuel
- Barnum's Feejee Mermaid was monkey sewn to fish
- diving humans
- Bajau free-divers stay submerged for minutes hunting
triton — greek god of the sea, son of poseidon, depicted in ancient artwork and literature with human torso and fish tail
davy jones — legendary nautical figure from 18th century british maritime folklore, captain of the flying dutchman cursed to the sea