kelpie
1[kel-pee]
noun
(in Scottish legends) a water spirit, usually having the form of a horse, reputed to cause drownings or to warn those in danger of drowning.
RELATED WORDS
phantom, devil, demon, soul, shadow, specter, vision, vampire, apparition, spook, appearance, visitor, spirit, revenant, doppelganger, phantasm, banshee, haunt, bogeyman, bogey
Nearby words
Origin of kelpie
1First recorded in 1740–50; origin uncertain
kelpie
2[kel-pee]
noun
Origin of kelpie
2First recorded in 1905–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for kelpie
kelpie
1kelpy
noun plural -pies
Word Origin for kelpie
named after a particular specimen of the breed, c. 1870
noun
Word Origin for kelpie
C18: probably related to Scottish Gaelic cailpeach heifer, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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kelpie
1747, Scottish, of unknown origin, perhaps related to Gaelic colpach "heifer, steer, colt;" colpa "cow, horse." The Lowland name of a demon in the shape of a horse that was reputed to haunt lakes and rivers and to delight in causing drownings. But unlike its equivalents in Danish (nøkken) and Icelandic (nykur), it occasionally was benevolent, especially to millers by keeping their streams running.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper