Etymology

sheela-na-gig

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Irish Síle
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The story

  1. Irish · borrowed fromSíle
  2. English todaysheela-na-gig

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

Words from the same roots

IrishSíle all →

sheilaShelaghsileSheilagh

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.