THE FIRST WORD

siren

PRONUNCIATION:

(SY-ruhn) 

MEANING:

noun:
1. A beautiful and seductive woman, especially one leading others into disaster.
2. Something attractive that is potentially disastrous.
3. A device that makes loud sounds, used for warning signals.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Siren, one of a group of sea nymphs, whose enchanting singing lured sailors to shipwreck on the rocks around their island. Also see femme fatale. Earliest documented use: 1340.

USAGE:

"That woman is a siren of cooking. She calls a man's soul through his stomach."
Ariana Franklin; Mistress of the Art of Death; Penguin; 2007.