> as lemmas

1849 M. C. Clarke Kit Bam's Adventures xii. 355 Pleasant, frolicsome little creatures they were—these Mer-children!

1879 Portfolio 75/2 The Dead Mer-Baby, representing two graceful children (nude) discovering a dead mer-child on the sea-shore.

1881 Proc. Soc. Antiquaries 2nd Ser. 8 533 Seal... Subject, a mermaid holding her merchild to her breast.

1927 J. Masefield Midnight Folk 183 Look, here come the merchildren, playing Touch and Tag.

1941 H. Belloc Places (1942) 66 The little Merchild of the Public Docks.

2013 G. K. Coppola Both Ends of Rainbow xvii. 73 I was a mer-child, loving the water so much.