cecaelia

English

A woman cosplaying as Ursula from The Little Mermaid

Etymology

Apparently coined around 2007 on a discussion thread on Seatails, a mermaid-enthusiast messageboard created by Kurt Cagle, who created a Wikipedia article on the cecaelia (originally “Cecælia”), inspired by Cilia (a cilophyte in “Cilia”, a seven-page short comic story published in issue #16 of the Vampirella comic magazine, released in March of 1972), cilophyte, Coleoidea, and the song “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel, about a fickle and demanding lover (according to Cagle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɪˈsiːliə/
• Homophones: Cecilia, Caecilia

Noun

cecaelia (plural cecaelia or cecaelias)

1. A composite mythical being, combining the head, arms and torso of a woman (more rarely a man) and, from the lower torso down, the tentacles of an octopus or squid as a form of mermaid or sea demon.
   • 2010, Joshua C. Shaffer, Discovering the Magic Kingdom: An Unofficial Disneyland Vacation Guide, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 40:

     During planning for the film, Ursula was not originally designed as a cecaelia (a composite mythical being, combining the head, arms and torso of a woman, and from the lower torso down, the tentacles of an octopus or squid as a form of mermaid or sea demon). It was thought that she would be another sea creature, such as a rockfish-like mermaid.

   • 2013, Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You’re Not Officially Dating Anyway) (The Bane Chronicles), Margaret K. McElderry Books, →ISBN:

     A mundane company had hired him to summon up a cecaelia demon. For the amount of money they were paying, and considering that cecaelia demons were lesser demons who could scarcely cause all that much fuss, Magnus had agreed to not ask questions.

   • 2013 April, Chris A. Jackson, “A Surprise Engagement”, in Pirate’s Honor (Pathfinder Tales), Paizo, →ISBN, pages 113–114:

     A spear of flame lanced out to strike the cecaelia. It shrieked and writhed as the heat seared its flesh, dropping its spear to bat at the smoldering wounds. Torius took the opportunity to drive his cutlass up into its chest. Still the thing clutched him, tentacles wrapping his arm and snaking around his neck. Celeste darted forward, but before she could reach him, an arrow transfixed the cecaelia’s head, and it fell. […] She had seen that the pirates outnumbered the cecaelias, but the longer reach of the invaders’ spears and their entangling tentacles were wreaking havoc.

   • 2014, Jolie Jaquinta, “Throne of the Sea”, in Red Queen, →ISBN:

     An officious Cecaelia rapped the floor of the platform sternly and called the court to order. After a few more raps and some stern looks, there was silence. She bowed deeply to Atlantica who bid her to continue with a wave.

   • 2014 May 30, Sarah Bryan Miller, “They’s the Best at Being the Worst”, in Go! Magazine (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), page 17:

     URSULA |Film| “The Little Mermaid” (1989) |Voiced by| Pat Carroll |Special attributes| She’s a cecaelia (a human-octopus mashup) with magical powers.

   • 2014 June, Christian Vago, The Rotted Garden (The Mademoiselle de Commercy Series; volume one), FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 441:

     Mademoiselle halted momentarily to marvel at a cecaelia rising furiously from the waves being whipped into foam by her tentacles and brandishing a trident high above.

   • 2015, Harpa Omarsdottir, “Ursula”, in Disney Villains Hairstyles & Looks, Edda Publishing USA LLC, →ISBN, page 6:

     Ursula’s form is a cecaelia, a half human and half octopus.

   • 2017, Philip Hayward, “Becoming Ariel, Becoming Ursula”, in Making a Splash: Mermaids (and Mermen) in 20th and 21st Century Audiovisual Media, John Libbey Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 37:

     While the Disney’s corporate Wiki site page on Ursula identifies her as a “villainous cecaelian sea witch” and characterises the cecaelia as “a legendary hybrid of human and octopus”, the figure of a monstrous tentacled female has little precedent in Western mythology or folklore. Rather than deriving from these sources, the cecaelia is a more modern figure that developed as a distinct entity within a dispersed node of fantasy aficionados and artists.

   • 2017, Daryl Rodrigues, Quzil Scarlett & the Kingdom of Durkinbird, Notion Press, →ISBN:

     “Do you know what happens when you swallow a cecaelia’s tentacles” smirked Agalia when suddenly Zwart let out a squeak and grabbed his stomach and to everyone’s surprise cried out helplessly. […] “They are the Seven High Sentinels of the Kingdom of Durkinbird, appointed by the King himself from each clanring to serve the palace and the kingdom, don’t be deceived by their cheerful behaviour, they are dignified warriors that guard the King and his palace and each one of them is strong enough to take down an entire army of cecaelias in mere seconds, the fact that the King has summoned all of them to carry out a task, the task must be mighty dangerous.”

   • 2020, James Egan, 3000 Facts about Animated Films, Lulu, →ISBN, page 191:

     Ursula is a Cecaelia; half-human, half-octopus.

   • 2021, Austin Dragon, Siren Storms of Madness (Fabled Quest Chronicles; book five), Well-Tailored Books, →ISBN:

     The lead cecaelia ship left its fleet formation to dock with the main mermaid ship. Aboard Titan’s Caravan’s ship, all watched as the cecaelia leaders walked with their long tentacles, their bodies riding along. […] The same water fae were present from the meeting on Queen Issaleth’s red ship, and the room was filled with water to everyone’s chest—except the cecaelia. With their tentacles, their upper torsos hung well above the water. […] Cecaelia are said to have bodies free of bones (though not true) because of their seemingly impossibly fast movements, flexibility, reflexes, and speed.

   • 2022, Phoebe Im, Cute Chibi Mythical Beasts & Magical Monsters: Learn How to Draw Over 60 Enchanting Creatures, Rock Point, →ISBN, page 16:

     In Asian and North American folklore, Cecaelia is described as an “octopus-woman.”

   • 2022, C.A.Watts, Mattara (The Ventura Series), Ballads & Bards Bookhouse, →ISBN:

     “I saw a man with a shark tail before,” Elva put in. “They are called triakis, and the octopus people? Those are cecaelia.” […] They turned to find an elderly cecaelia entering the pavilion, flanked by four guards. […] Morgan bellowed to the mass of mermaids, naiads, triakis and cecaelia.

   • 2022, Marcel, Revenge Tale: Kill Mara, Dorrance Publishing Co, →ISBN, page 149:

     Risa can manipulate the power of the High Seas, and transform into a cecaelia, famous throughout Nassau as Sumitomo’s sorceress, predicts the outcomes of battles and potential threats, she tells the fortunes of pirates whether they die at land or sea, also Sumitomo’s lover, Risa’s devoted to Sumitomo, would do anything he asks of her, she betrayed clan Fujiwara for him, she’s blinded by love and lust, Sumitomo completely has her under his control.