Banshee Definition

banzhē
banshees
noun
banshees
A female spirit in Gaelic folklore believed to presage, by wailing, a death in a family.
American Heritage
A female spirit believed to wail outside a house as a warning that a death will occur soon in the family.
Webster's New World

In Irish folklore, a female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Banshee

Noun

Singular:
banshee
Plural:
banshees

Origin of Banshee

  • Irish Gaelic bean sídhe woman of the fairies, banshee bean woman (from Old Irish ben gwen- in Indo-European roots) sídhe fairy (from Old Irish síde) (genitive of síd fairy mound sed- in Indo-European roots)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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

    From Wiktionary

Banshee Is Also Mentioned In

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to banshee using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

banshee