geis

plural geises · plural geasa

1. Synonym of geas (“a mystical injunction: a prohibition, or obligation/compulsion”).

   The púca scrunched up his face in puzzlement and rubbed his bald head. Glad he should be, his geis fulfilled and the Good God satisfied.

   1995, Risa Aratyr, Hunter of the Light, HarperCollins, →ISBN

   4 more examples

   [In] 36a we read that there was (19) a geis upon ships to leave the 'port' of Athens till someone had defeated Atalanta in a running race. The nature and function of the geis that lay upon objects appears to better advantage, however, in one of the stories about Ailill Dock-Ear.

   1933, John Revell Reinhard, The Survival of Geis in Mediaeval Romance, page 58

   'In some cases a geis is imposed by one man upon another, often by means of a successful exploit, as when Cu Chulainn lays a geis upon the Connachtmen, binding them not to pass the ford until someone has removed the branch which he has ...

   1985, Elliott B. Gose, Jr., The World of the Irish Wonder Tale: An Introduction to the Study of Fairy Tales, University of Toronto Press, →ISBN

   “I place a geis upon you, my son,” I rasped, my eyes burning with impending wrath. I pressed my palm to his chest and conjured my symbol, the mark which tied a Faelorehn life to my service.

   2016, Yasmine Galenorn, Once Upon A Curse: 17 Dark Faerie Tales, Fiddlehead Press, →ISBN

   Before she died, she placed a geis upon me, that all the glamour I would ever be capable of possessing would gather in my hair. She did it so they wouldn't kill me, too, but because of that, I have never been free.

   2021, Alethea Kontis, et al., Once Upon A Wish: 16 Dreamy Faerie Tales, Fiddlehead Press

   Synonyms: geas

1. pluralplural of gei