Medusa

n. [pl. Medusae ().]
  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.
    2. Medusa bud (Zoöl.),
    one of the buds of a hydroid, destined to develop into a gonophore or medusa. See Athecata, and Gonotheca.
    Medusa's head . (a) (Zoöl.)
    An astrophyton