In Irish folklore, a female spirit whose wailing sound warns that someone in a family is about to die.
From Irish 'bean sídhe' (woman of the fairy mound), from 'bean' (woman) plus 'sídhe' (fairy folk/supernatural). Brought into English through Irish storytelling traditions.
Banshees might have originated from real phenomena—the keening or wailing songs performed by professional mourning women in Celtic cultures, later mythologized into supernatural spirits, blending actual cultural practices with folklore in a way that shows how mythology often explains things people actually heard.
From Irish bean sídhe (woman of the fairy mound). The term exclusively feminizes supernatural wailing and grief, reflecting historical gendering of emotional expression as female pathology.
Use neutrally when describing the folklore creature; avoid using 'banshee' metaphorically to mock women's vocal expression or emotional intensity.
["wailing spirit","keening entity","mourning figure"]
Irish women's keening traditions were sophisticated ritual practices; banshee mythology has been weaponized to dismiss women's grief and anger as 'hysterical noise'.
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