English Explanatory Dictionary

sheela-na-gig

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. 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.

Word forms

sheela-na-gig sheela-na-gigs

Etymology

From Irish Síle na gcíoch (“Julia of the breasts”). Attested in English from the 19th century.

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