Medusa-likeadj.
/mᵻˈdjuːzəlʌɪk/, /mᵻˈdjuːsəlʌɪk/, /mᵻˈdʒuːzəlʌɪk/, /mᵻˈdʒuːsəlʌɪk/, U.S. /məˈd(j)uzəˌlaɪk/, /məˈd(j)usəˌlaɪk/ 1. Resembling Medusa (Medusa n. 1), esp. with reference to her hair.
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1613 J. Stephens Cinthia's Revenge iii. viii. sig. L2 Defend mee from her hatefull frownes, See where Medusa-like shee comes.
1793 M. Robinson Mod. Manners i. 4 His lines, Medusa-like, so sweetly shone, That every leaden head was turned to stone!
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. III. 68 [Her] Medusa-like head bore testimony to the opinion she entertained of the beauty of her hair.
1901 Harper's Mag. Apr. 684/1 Medusa-like locks fell in wild profusion over his bare shoulders.
1963 R. P. Dales Annelids 15 The more familiar tentacle-feeders include the terebellids, which have a mass of extensile tentacles arising medusa-like from the prostomium.
1990 Elle (U.S. ed.) Aug. 142/1 Within a few years the world knew about dreadlocks, the medusalike hairstyle favored by Rastas.
2. Resembling or similar to a medusa (Medusa n. 2).
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1848 E. Forbes Naked-eyed Medusæ 81 Mr. Lister..describes and figures Medusa-like animals in course of production from Campanulariæ.
1878 Amer. Naturalist 12 253 This organism is medusa-like, but this likeness becomes still more strikingly manifest when the organism moves.
1912 Science 16 Feb. 277/1 The system of radial canals is very striking and medusa-like.
1932 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 221 236 The early stage is figured as a medusa-like bell with cilia round the edge.
1985 Science 15 Nov. 825/3 Large numbers of aggregated spiroplasmas..formed medusa-like spheres.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1613