bean sí

Irish

Alternative forms

• bean sídhe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Irish ben síde (literally “woman of the fairy mound”). By surface analysis, bean +‎ sí.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʲanˠ ʃiː/, /bʲan̪ˠ ʃiː/

Noun

bean sí f (genitive singular mná sí, nominative plural mná sí)

1. banshee, fairy woman

Declension

Declension of bean sí (irregular)

bare forms case singular plural nominative bean sí mná sí vocative a bhean sí a mhná sí genitive mná sí ban sí dative bean sí mnaoi shí (archaic or dialectal) mná sí mnáibh sí (archaic) forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an bhean sí na mná sí genitive na mná sí na mban sí dative leis an mbean sí don bhean sí leis an mnaoi shí (archaic or dialectal) don mhnaoi shí (archaic or dialectal) leis na mná sí leis na mnáibh sí (archaic)

Derived terms

• coigeal na mban sí (“reed-mace, cat’s tail”)
• líon na mban sí (“fairy flax, purging flax”)
• lus na mban sí (“foxglove”)
• méaracáin na mban sí (“purple foxglove”)

Descendants

• → English: banshee (see there for further descendants)
• → Scots: banshee

Mutation

Mutated forms of bean sí

radical	lenition	eclipsis
bean sí	bhean sí	mbean sí

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “bean”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “sí”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN