Editing Mermaid (section)

=== Merewif ===
Old English {{lang|ang|męrewif}} is another related term,<ref name="oed-mermaid"/> and appears once in reference not so much to a mermaid but a [[Grendel's mother|certain sea hag]],<ref name="bosworth-toller-merewif">Bosworth-Toller (1882), s.v. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=oXlii1KgDngC&pg=PA680 mere-wíf]"</ref><ref name="beowulf-ed-klaeber">''Beowulf'', Klaeber ed. (2008) [1936]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8ek3p6ILv8wC&pg=PA52&q=merewif v. 1519]</ref> and not well-attested later.<ref name="oed-mermaid"/>{{efn|That is, the OED's entry for gave "cf. OE {{lang|ang|męrewif}} and {{smallcaps|Mermin}} [in small capitals]", meaning there is an entry for the latter but not the former.}}

Its MHG cognate {{lang|gmh|merwîp}}, also defined as "{{lang|de|meerweib}}" in modern German<ref name="schade-altd_woerterbuch"/> with perhaps "{{linktext|merwoman}}"<ref name="oed-merwoman">{{OED|merwoman}}; Murray, James A. H. ed. (1908) ''A New Eng. Dict.'' '''VI''', s.v."[https://books.google.com/books?id=M6ojAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA365 merwoman]", "name for the mermaid when older or wedded".</ref> a valid English definition.{{Refn|As "merwoman" is used for {{lang|gmh|merwîp}}, e.g., at {{harvp|Grimm|Stallybrass tr.|1883|p=490}} re the ''Nibelungenlied'' example.}} The word is attested, among other medieval epics, in the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'',<ref name="lexer-merwip">Lexer (1872) ''Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch'', s.v. "[https://woerterbuchnetz.de/?sigle=Lexer&lemid=LM01525#0 mer-wîp]"</ref> and rendered "merwoman",{{sfnp|Grimm|Stallybrass tr.|1883|p=490}} "mermaid", "water sprite", or other terms;<ref name="lionarons"/> the two in the story<ref name="nibelungenlied"/> are translated as ON {{lang|non|{{linktext|sjó|konur}}}} ("sea-women").<ref name="lionarons"/>