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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for swan maiden

Historical Examples of swan maiden

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.
Women of the Teutonic Nations
Hermann Schoenfeld
The swan-maiden had not the faintest idea of offering resistance.
Stories by American Authors, Volume 10
Various
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

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