banshee

or ban·shie

[ ban-shee, ban-shee ]
See synonyms for banshee on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (in Irish folklore) a spirit in the form of a wailing woman who appears to or is heard by members of a family as a sign that one of them is about to die.

Origin of banshee

1
First recorded in 1765–75; from Irish bean sídhe “woman of a fairy mound”; bean “woman” (from Old Irish ben; see also queen) + sídhe “of a fairy mound” (from Old Irish síde, genitive of síd “fairy mound”; cf. sídh)

Words Nearby banshee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use banshee in a sentence

  • I left the road, circled the house with the turbine screaming like a banshee and the car taking the corners on the outside wheels.

    Highways in Hiding | George Oliver Smith
  • The car shuddered, howled like a wounded banshee, and then leaped forward with a roar.

    Highways in Hiding | George Oliver Smith
  • "Good old Dog; he's treed the banshee," and Yan rushed out into the darkness.

    Two Little Savages | Ernest Thompson Seton

British Dictionary definitions for banshee

banshee

/ (ˈbænʃiː, bænˈʃiː) /


noun
  1. (in Irish folklore) a female spirit whose wailing warns of impending death

Origin of banshee

1
C18: from Irish Gaelic bean sídhe, literally: woman of the fairy mound

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012