medusa

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the free-swimming, usually bell-shaped and sexually reproducing stage of a cnidarian, commonly recognized as a jellyfish

   The medusa propelled itself by contracting its translucent bell.

2. 2
   noun

   Medusa in Greek mythology: the mortal Gorgon whose gaze turned observers to stone and whose hair was represented as snakes

   Perseus avoided Medusa's direct gaze by watching her reflection in his shield.

From Latin Medusa and Greek Medousa, the name of the Gorgon, from a verb meaning 'rule or protect.' Zoologists later applied the name to the bell-shaped, tentacled stage of a cnidarian, whose trailing tentacles suggested Medusa's snake-covered head.

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