Merchild

Origin

From - + child.

Full definition of merchild

Noun

1. The young of either sex of a legendary creature, human from the waist up, fishlike from the waist down.
• 1904, Thomas Bird Mosher, The Bibelot, p. 160:The fish-tailed merchild carved in crumbling stone
  Wreathed with loose straggling roses, reigns alone...
• 2003, Liz Kessler, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Scholastic, ISBN 9780439781787, page 57:There were mermaids with gold chains around slinky long tails, swimming along with little merchildren.
• 2003, Debbie Viguié, Midnight Pearls, Simon Pulse (2003), ISBN 0689855575, page 80:He shuddered as he thought about all the stories he had heard as a young merchild.

Hyponyms

• merbaby
• merteen