Mother Shipton

British  

/ ˈʃɪptən /

noun

1. a day-flying noctuid moth, Callistege mi, mottled brown in colour and named from a fancied resemblance between its darker marking and a haggish profile

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Etymology

Origin of Mother Shipton

named after Mother Shipton, a legendary prophetess in 15th-century Yorkshire

Example Sentences

Old Mother Shipton has been writing such a letter to our old woman, and explaining that no boy's soul would any longer be worth looking after if he be left in your hands.

From Dr. Wortle's School by Trollope, Anthony

The Duchess turned away sharply to conceal something that reddened her cheek through its professional tint, and Mother Shipton requested Piney not to "chatter."

From Short Stories for English Courses by Mikels, Rosa Mary Redding

Two other boys had also been summoned away, making five in all, whose premature departure was owing altogether to the virulent tongue of that wretched old Mother Shipton.

From Dr. Wortle's School by Trollope, Anthony

There was a figure on crutches at the door; and Old Mother Shipton, the witch, kicked the astonished visitor as he left.

From Old and New London Volume I by Thornbury, Walter

One of these is the Mother Shipton, a very common insect that flies in June.

From Butterflies and Moths (British) by Furneaux, William S.