Merman

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Marine Lexicon — Marine mammals — Mythical creatures — Activities related to marine mammals — Toponomy — Zooarchaeology — Historical sources — Cite Marine Lexicon

merman • Masculine of mermaid. Creature with a fish tail and human body. Merpeople feature in numerous legends, stories, and even religions.

Mermaid and Merman in Cosmographia by Sebastian Münster, 1578

One of the earliest representatives is probably the Sumerian god Ea. Ea was a.o. the god of water, light, and fertility. During the day, Ea came on land, come night fall, he would retreat back to sea. He was thus depicted as part fish, or as a human with fish swimming up to him. Greek mythology, too, is rich in references to merpeople (e.g. Triton). Plinius mentions mermaids and mermen in his Historia Naturalis, influencing literature until medieval times. After disappearing from scientific literature, merpeople continued to play a role in folk tales and myths. In the 19^th century, authors like J. Grimm and W. Grimm in Germany, H.C. Andersen in Denmark, and P.C. Asbjørnsen and J. Moe in Norway started collecting and recording fairy tales. While H.C. Andersen's "lille havfrue" is probably the most famous mermaid, merpeople are common along the entire Atlantic coast. Their appearance and size can vary from country to country, and from region to region.

English

Merman

Portuguese

Tritão

Norwegian

Havmann; Marmæle

Dutch

Zeemeerman; Meerman; Waterman

German

Wassermann

French

Sirène mâle; Triton

Spanish

Tritón

Catalan

Tritó

Italian

Tritone

Greek

Τρίτωνας, Τρίτων