Editing Merrow (section)

==Etymology==
Current scholarship regards ''merrow'' as a [[Hiberno-English]] term,{{r|"welch-sidh"}} derived from Irish ''{{lang|ga|murúch}}'' (Middle Irish ''{{lang|mga|murdhúchu}}'' or ''{{lang|mga|murdúchann}}''{{r|"n-stem"|group=lower-alpha}}) meaning "sea singer" or "siren".{{r|"welch-sidh"}}{{r|"o-hogain-mermaid"}} But this was not the derivation given by 19th century writers.

According to [[T. C. Croker|Croker]], "merrow" was a transliteration of modern Irish ''{{lang|ga|moruadh}}'' or ''{{lang|ga|moruach}}'',{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Croker gives "''{{lang|ga|morúach}}, {{lang|ga|morúadh}}''", but the form without diacriticals conform with O'Reilly's dictionary.{{sfnp|O'Reilly|O'Donovan|1864|p=369}}}} which resolved into ''{{lang|ga|muir}}'' "sea" + ''{{lang|ga|oigh}}'' "maid".{{sfnp|Croker|1828|loc='''II''', 17}} This "Gaelic" word could also denote "sea monster",{{refn|group=lower-alpha|O'Reilley on the entry for ''{{lang|ga|moruadh}}'' and ''{{lang|ga|moruach}}'' invokes [[William Shaw (Gaelic scholar)|Shaw]]'s ''A Galic and English Dictionary, containing all the Words in the Scottish and Irish Dialects of the Celtic that could be collected from the Voice and Old Books and MSS.'' (1780).}} and Croker remarked that it was cognate with [[Cornish language|Cornish]] ''{{lang|kw|morhuch}}'',{{sfnp|Croker|1828|loc='''II''', 17}} a "[[porpoise|sea hog]]".{{r|williams-morhuch}} Yeats added ''{{lang|ga|murrúghach}}'' as an alternative original,{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=61}} as that word is also synonymous with mermaid.{{sfnp|O'Reilly|O'Donovan|1864|p=373}}

The corresponding term in the [[Scots language|Scots]] dialect is ''{{lang|sco|morrough}}'', derived from the Irish, with no original [[Scottish Gaelic]] form suggested.{{efn|''[[Scottish National Dictionary]]'': Morrough, n. A mythical sea-being [Ir. ''{{lang|ga|murbhach}}'', ''{{lang|ga|murdhuach}}'', mermaid]}}{{r|"SND"}}

The Middle Irish ''{{lang|mga|murdúchann}}'',{{Refn|name="n-stem"|group=lower-alpha|In the past, ''{{lang|ga|murdúchu}}'' (n-stem feminine) was regarded as the canonical form by certain leading lexicographers, but that has undergone a reassessment in favor of the o-stem ''{{lang|ga|murdúchann}}''.{{r|"bowen"}} The ''[[Dictionary of the Irish Language]]'' list the headword under "''{{lang|ga|murdúchann}}'', ''{{lang|ga|murdúchu}}''" in that order.}} (from ''{{lang|ga|muir}}'' + ''{{lang|ga|dúchann}}'' "chant, song"{{r|"bowen"}}{{sfnp|Meyer|1885|p=77}}) with its singing melodies that held sway over seamen was more characteristic of the [[siren (mythology)|sirens]] of [[classical mythology]], and was imported into Irish literature via Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]''.{{sfnp|Meyer|1885|pp=77–78,106}}{{r|"bowen"}}