swan maiden

noun

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.

Origin of swan maiden

First recorded in 1865–70

Words Nearby swan maiden

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use swan maiden in a sentence

I hope I have made clear in the last chapter the connection between the various types of the Swan-maiden group of folk-tales.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
But in every variant of the Swan-maiden group, to whatsoever type it may belong, the catastrophe is inevitable from the beginning.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
Had Liebrecht's theory touched only the Swan-maiden group, it would have been more convenient to discuss it in the last chapter.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
In another (Hahn, No. 15) a prince finds in the forbidden fortieth a lake in which fairies of the swan-maiden species are bathing.
Russian Fairy Tales | W. R. S. Ralston
If you take a jinni or a swan-maiden you can go from Cairo to Bokhara in less time than our best expresses could cover a mile.
The Life of Sir Richard Burton | Thomas Wright

British Dictionary definitions for swan maiden

swan maiden

noun

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

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

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