banshee

== English == === Alternative forms === banshie (archaic) benshee (obsolete) === Etymology === Borrowed from Irish bean sí, from Old Irish ben síde (literally “woman of the fairy mound”). The term banshee entered English in 1771. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /bænˈʃiː/, /ˈbænʃiː/ Rhymes: -iː === Noun === banshee (plural banshees) (Scotland, Ireland, folklore) A female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death. (derogatory) A noisy or ill-tempered woman. ==== Usage notes ==== A banshee was originally merely a fairy woman who sang a keen (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. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === sidhe === References === Joseph Wright, editor (1898), “BANSHEE, sb..”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume I (A–C), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, page 158. === Anagrams === has-been, shabeen, shebean == Portuguese == === Noun === banshee f (plural banshees) (Irish mythology) banshee (a female spirit who warns of impending death) == Scots == === Etymology === Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic bean-shìdh or Irish ben síde. === Noun === banshee banshee === References === “banshee, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 12 June 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.