sheela-na-gig
sheela-na-gig · sheela-na-gigs
A carving of a naked woman with an exaggerated vulva, found in old British and Irish…A carving of a naked woman with an exaggerated vulva, found in old British and Irish architecture, perhaps used to ward off death and evil.
Meaning
1 sensesA carving of a naked woman with an exaggerated vulva, found in old British and Irish architecture, perhaps used to ward off death and evil.
Origin
From Irish Síle na gcíoch (“Julia of the breasts”). Attested in English from the 19th centFrom Irish Síle na gcíoch (“Julia of the breasts”). Attested in English from the 19th century.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: sheela-na-gigs| Singular | sheela-na-gig |
|---|---|
| Plural | sheela-na-gigs |
regular
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.