One way to hold it: a voice coming across the water that you cannot help turning toward. In the old story the sailors hear it and steer straight at the rocks — so the picture always carries two halves at once, an irresistible sound and the danger it is pulling you into.
From the word’s history
From Middle English siren, via Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn) — the singing creatures of the Odyssey whose voices lured sailors onto the rocks. The modern warning-device sense was applied to a sound-making machine and spread from there.
字直接來自古希臘 Σειρήν（Seirḗn），經拉丁文 Sīrēn 和古法文 sereine 進入英文——就是《奧德賽》裡那群用歌聲把水手引向礁石的海妖。所以英文裡「警笛」這個現代意思其實是後來被安上去的：十九世紀有人把一種發出高亢長音的裝置命名為 siren，因為它的聲音同樣穿透一切、同樣無法不理會，只是這回它是要救你，不是要害你。
Wiktionary, entry 'siren' (from Middle English siren < Old French sereine, Latin Sīrēn < Ancient Greek Σειρήν)
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。
原始詞典資料15 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Sirenname
- 1
A village, the county seat of Burnett County, Wisconsin, United States.
- 2
A town in Burnett County, Wisconsin, United States, surrounding the village of the same name.
sirennoun/ˈsaɪəɹən/
- 1
human-sciencesmysticismmythologyOne of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.
- Now give ear to what I'm about to say to you, / and a god himself will bring it before your mind. / First, you will come to the Sirens. / These beings enthrall all men who arrive before them. […]
- 2
One who sings sweetly and charms.
- 3
A dangerously seductive woman.
- 4
A member of Sirenia, an order of mammals.
- 5
A member of a genus of aquatic salamanders of the family Sirenidae, commonly used for all species in the family Sirenidae.
- 6
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Hestina.
- 7
A device, either mechanical or electronic, that makes a piercingly loud sound as an alarm or signal, or the sound from such a device.
- My attention was diverted from this sight by a furious yelling, like that of the thing called a siren in our manufacturing towns.
- 1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave. There goes the siren that warns of the air raid / Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak / Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne / Got to get up for the coming attack.
- 8
entertainmentlifestylemusicA musical instrument, one of the few aerophones in the percussion section of the symphony orchestra (patented as Acme Siren in 1895).
另外 2 個記錄的用法
- 9
An instrument for demonstrating the laws of beats and combination tones.
- 10
astronomyastrophysicsnatural-sciencesAn astrophysical event that can be used for calculating cosmic distances.
sirenverb/ˈsaɪəɹən/
- 1
To make a noise with, or as if with, a siren.
- 2
To drive with a siren on.
sirenadj/ˈsaɪəɹən/
- 1
Relating to or like a siren.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。