Dictionary entry

Banshee

Webster's Dictionary 1913

{ Ban″shee, Ban″shie } (�), n. [Gael. bean-shith fairy; Gael. & Ir. bean woman + Gael. sith fairy.] A supernatural being supposed by the Irish and Scotch peasantry to warn a family of the speedy death of one of its members, by wailing or singing in a mournful voice under the windows of the house.