banshee

See also: Banshee

English

Alternative forms

• banshie (dated)
• benshee (obsolete)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /bænˈʃiː/, /ˈbænʃiː/

Noun

banshee (plural banshees)

1. (Irish folklore) A female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death.
2. (derogatory) A noisy or ill-tempered woman.
   • 1936, John Thomas McIntyre, Steps Going Down, page 15:

     Where's this old banshee that runs the place?

Usage notes

• A banshee was originally merely a fairy woman who sang a caoineadh (lament) for recently-deceased members of certain families. Translations of Irish works into English made a distinction between the banshee and other fairy folk that the original language and original stories do not seem to have, but from which sprung the current image of the banshee.

Descendants

Related terms

• → Arabic: بَانْشِي (bānšī)
• → Catalan: banshee
• → Dutch: banshee
• → Esperanto: banŝio
• → Finnish: banshee
• → French: banshee, banshie
• → German: Banshee
• → Japanese: バンシー (banshī)
• → Korean: 반시 (bansi)
• → Kurdish: banşî
• → Portuguese: banshee
• → Russian: ба́нши (bánši), банши́ (banší), ба́ньши (bánʹši), баньши́ (banʹší)
• → Spanish: banshee

Translations

in Irish folklore, a female spirit

• Arabic: بَانْشِي f (bānšī)
• Catalan: banshee f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (no exact term exists) 報喪女妖／报丧女妖 (bàosāng nǚyāo), 报丧女妖 (bàosāng nǚyāo), 喪門神／丧门神 (zh) (sàngménshén), 丧门神 (zh) (sàngménshén) ("messenger of death"), 喪門星／丧门星 (zh) (sàngménxīng), 丧门星 (zh) (sàngménxīng) ("messenger of death")

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: banshee (nl) f
• Esperanto: banŝio
• Finnish: banshee
• French: banshee (fr) f, banshie (fr) f
• German: Banshee (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: bean sí f
• Japanese: バンシー (banshī)
• Korean: 반시 (ko) (bansi)
• Kurdish:
• Manx: ben shee f
• Old Irish: ben síde f, baintsíde f
• Polish: szyszymora f
• Portuguese: banshee f
• Russian: ба́нши f (bánši), банши́ f (banší), ба́ньши f (bánʹši), баньши́ f (banʹší)
• Scots: banshee, banshi, banshie, benshee, benshi, benshie
• Scottish Gaelic: bean-shìdh f
• Spanish: banshee f, La Llorona f (slang)
• Welsh: cyhyraeth f

See also

• sidhe

Anagrams

• has-been, shabeen, shebean

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Portuguese

Noun

banshee f (plural banshees)

1. (Irish folklore) banshee (a female spirit who warns of impending death)