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swan maiden

noun
  1. any of a class of folkloric maidens, in many Indo-European and Asian tales, capable of being transformed into swans, as by magic or sorcery.
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Origin of swan maiden

First recorded in 1865–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for swan maiden

Historical Examples

  • Something, however, must be said on the Swan-maiden as divine ancestress.

    The Science of Fairy Tales

    Edwin Sidney Hartland

  • In this respect the swan-maiden and the Valkyries are identical.

  • The swan-maiden had not the faintest idea of offering resistance.

  • What centuries ago it seems since the first night of The Swan-Maiden!

    The Lamp of Fate

    Margaret Pedler

  • The dance which she had chosen for her last appearance was the Swan-Maiden.

    The Lamp of Fate

    Margaret Pedler

British Dictionary definitions for swan maiden

swan maiden

noun
  1. any of a group of maidens in folklore who by magic are transformed into swans
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012