English Explanatory Dictionary

dullahan

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A black-clad (usually male) horserider in Irish folklore which carries its severed head like a lantern and may be repelled by gold; when it stops riding (or calls out someone's name), someone will die. (Also called the Gan Ceann, Irish for "[one] without a head".)
noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of dullahan.
name
  1. A surname from Irish.

Pronunciation

/ˈduː.ləˌhɑːn/

Word forms

dullahan dullahans dullaghan

Etymology

From Irish dulachán, from dubh (“black”) + another word (compare lucharachán (“elf, dwarf”)), possibly originally a term for a dark or sullen person (compare the surname Dullahan) and only subsequently applied to the spirit.

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