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.

swan maiden

noun

1. any of a group of maidens in folklore who by magic are transformed into swans

Word History and Origins

Origin of swan maiden¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Here’s another opening: “Once there was a King who had a pear tree which bore four-and-twenty golden pears. Every day he went into the garden and counted them to see that none was missing. But, one morning . . . ” That’s the start of Howard Pyle’s “The Swan Maiden.”

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One especially prominent swan maiden actually decides to wander back in the direction she came, and at the same tempo.

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Siegfried in “Swan Lake” is hunting swans when he loses his heart to Odette the swan maiden, beneath the trees and beside the water.

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Delia Mathews, who also made a notable debut as Odette-Odile this month, commands the attention with a Swan Maiden of serene authority.

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The ballet’s final act should give us the full drama and beauty of the couple’s sacrifice, magnified by the swan maiden corps.

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