Etymology

kelpie

K5E1L1P3I1E1

Today it means: A malevolent shapeshifting spirit, most often in the form of a horse, believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland. Full definition →

Scottish Gaelic cailpeach
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The story

  1. Scottish Gaelic · derived fromcailpeach
  2. English todaykelpie

Possibly from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach or colpach, meaning "colt"; recorded earliest in a placename (Kelpie hoall, Kirkcudbrightshire) in 17th century. The dog breed, from 1889, derives from the name shared by the first two breeding bitches (dam and pup) in Victoria, Australia, which in turn derives from the mythological spirit.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.