merchild

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English

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Etymology

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From mer- +‎ child.

Noun

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merchild (plural merchildren)

  1. The young of either sex of a legendary creature, human from the waist up, fishlike from the waist down.
    • 1904, Thomas Bird Mosher, The Bibelot, page 160:
      The fish-tailed merchild carved in crumbling stone
      Wreathed with loose straggling roses, reigns alone...
    • 2003, Liz Kessler, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Scholastic, →ISBN, page 57:
      There were mermaids with gold chains around slinky long tails, swimming along with little merchildren.
    • 2003, Debbie Viguié, Midnight Pearls, Simon Pulse, →ISBN, page 80:
      He shuddered as he thought about all the stories he had heard as a young merchild.

Synonyms

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Hyponyms

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