selkie

S1E1L1K5I1E1

noun

A seal which can magically transform into a human by shedding its skin.

OriginScots selkie fowk →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

nounselkie (plural selkies)

plural selkies · alternative silkie

  1. Celtic mythologyA seal which can magically transform into a human by shedding its skin.
  2. Either of two similar-looking seals.
    1. ScotlandShetlandThe common seal (harbor seal) (Phoca vitulina).
    2. ScotlandShetlandThe grey seal (Halichoerus grypus).

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
common sealgrey seal

Origin

  1. Scotsselkie fowk“seal folk”
  2. Englishselkie

From Scots selkie fowk (“seal folk”).

More words from Scots

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 海豹人, 海豹精
  • 海豹人 (hǎibàorén)mythological creature
  • 海豹精 (hǎibàojīng)mythological creature
Danish sælkvinde
  • sælkvindemythological creature
French selkie, phoque-garou
  • selkiemythological creature
  • phoque-garoumythological creature
German Selkie
  • Selkiemythological creature
Irish maighdean mhara, banrón
  • maighdean mharamythological creature
  • banrónmythological creature
  • leanbh-rónmythological creature
Japanese セルキー
  • セルキー (serukī)mythological creature
Korean 셀키
  • 셀키 (selki)mythological creature
Polish selkie
  • selkiemythological creature
Russian шелки, селки
  • шелки (šelki)mythological creature
  • селки (selki)mythological creature
Scottish Gaelic maighdeann-mhara, maighdeann-ròin
  • maighdeann-mharamythological creature
  • maighdeann-ròinmythological creature

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

KelsieLieske
Cite this entry
APA

selkie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selkie

MLA

“selkie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selkie. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “selkie,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/selkie.

Source: selkie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.