Medusa \Me*du"sa\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?.]
   1. (Class. Myth.) The Gorgon; or one of the Gorgons whose
      hair was changed into serpents, after which all who looked
      upon her were turned into stone.
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   2. [pl. Medusae.] (Zool.) Any free swimming acaleph; a
      jellyfish.
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   Note: The larger medusae belong to the Discophora, and are
         sometimes called covered-eyed medusae; others, known
         as naked-eyed medusae, belong to the Hydroidea, and
         are usually developed by budding from hydroids. See
         Discophora, Hydroidea, and Hydromedusa.
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   Medusa bud (Zool.), one of the buds of a hydroid, destined
      to develop into a gonophore or medusa. See Athecata, and
      Gonotheca.

   Medusa's head.
      (a) (Zool.) An astrophyton.
      (b) (Astron.) A cluster of stars in the constellation
          Perseus. It contains the bright star Algol.
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