banshee

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English [edit]

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Etymology [edit]

From Irish bean , from Old Irish ben síde (woman of the fairy mound). The term banshee entered English in 1771.

Pronunciation [edit]

  • (file)
  • IPA: /bænˈʃiː/ or /ˈbænʃiː/

Noun [edit]

banshee (plural banshees)

  1. In Irish folklore, a female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death. Originally a fairy woman singing a caoineadh (lament) for recently-deceased members of the O’Grady, the O’Neill, the O’Brien, the O’Connor, and the Kavanagh families, translations into English made a distinction between the banshee and other fairy folk that the original language and original stories do not seem to have, and thus the current image of the banshee.

Translations [edit]

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Anagrams [edit]