sheela-na-gig

noun

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.

OriginIrish Síle →
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Meanings

nounsheela-na-gig (plural sheela-na-gigs)

plural sheela-na-gigs

  1. 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.

Origin

  1. IrishSíle
  2. Englishsheela-na-gig

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

More words from Irish

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sheela-na-gig. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sheela-na-gig

MLA

“sheela-na-gig.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sheela-na-gig. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sheela-na-gig,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sheela-na-gig.

Source: sheela-na-gig on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.