sheela-na-gig

English

12th century carving of a sheela-na-gig at the church of Saint Mary and Saint David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England

Etymology

From Irish Síle na gcíoch (“Julia of the breasts”). Attested in English from the 19th century.

Noun

sheela-na-gig (plural sheela-na-gigs)

1. A carving of a naked woman with an exaggerated vulva, found in old British and Irish architecture, perhaps used to ward off death and evil.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “sheela-na-gig”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.