different between sidhe vs banshee

English

Alternative forms

• Sidhe

Etymology

From Irish; see Sidhe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?i?/
• Homophones: she, Xi

Noun

sidhe (plural sidhe)

1. A supernatural creature of Irish and Scottish folklore, living in Sidhe; a fairy. [From 1899, Yeats]

Related terms

• banshee

Anagrams

• Heids, Ihdes, deshi, hides, shide, shied

Irish

Noun

sidhe m (genitive singular sidhe, nominative plural sidhthe)

1. Obsolete spelling of sí (fairy mound)

Mutation

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

• IPA^(key): /bæn??i?/, /?bæn?i?/

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.

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

Translations

See also

• sidhe

Anagrams

• has-been, shabeen, shebean

Portuguese

Noun

banshee f (plural banshees)

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