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