banshee
/bænˈʃiː/ · noun
Meaning
- A female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death.
- A noisy or ill-tempered woman.
Etymology / origin
Borrowed from Irish bean sí, from Old Irish ben síde (literally “woman of the fairy mound”). The term banshee entered English in 1771.
- ben síde(Old Irish)→
- bean sí(Irish)→
- banshee (English)
- Relations: bor, der
Related words
Descendant words
- Banshee(German) (bor)
- バンシー(Japanese) (cog)
- банши(Russian) (bor)
- баньши(Russian) (bor)
Sources
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