ben síde

Old Irish

Etymology

From ben (“woman”) +‎ síd (“fairy mound”).

Noun

ben síde f (genitive mná síde, nominative plural mná síde)

1. banshee, fairy woman

Descendants

• Irish: bean sí, bean sídhe (obsolete)
  • → English: banshee (see there for further descendants)
  • → Scots: banshee
• Scottish Gaelic: bean-shìdh
• Manx: ben shee

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.