banshie


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ban·shee

also ban·shie  (băn′shē)
n.
A female spirit in Gaelic folklore believed to presage, by wailing, a death in a family.

[Irish Gaelic bean sídhe, woman of the fairies, banshee : bean, woman (from Old Irish ben; see gwen- in Indo-European roots) + sídhe, fairy (from Old Irish síde, genitive of síd, fairy mound; see sed- in Indo-European roots).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.banshie - (Irish folklore) a female spirit who wails to warn of impending deathbanshie - (Irish folklore) a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
folklore - the unwritten lore (stories and proverbs and riddles and songs) of a culture
Emerald Isle, Hibernia, Ireland - an island comprising the republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
disembodied spirit, spirit - any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
ALCHEMY, BANSHIE, CURTAIN, DAMN[FY, EQUABLY, FORMULA, GAWKIER, HARMONY, INVADES, JOURNEY, KNAVISH, LARCENY, MOWABLE, NUMERIC, OPUNT1A, PAUCITY, QUAKIER, RAVINES, SEMINAR, ROWMAN, UNAIMED, VINEGAR, WARMING, XANTHIC, YAWNERS, ZANYISM