kelpie
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.94 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A malevolent shapeshifting spirit, most often in the form of a horse, believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland.
noun
An Australian breed of sheepdog.
Example Sentences
- "He was a boy in form, and an antediluvian in feature. Some thought he was a mule, between a Jew and an ape; some a wizard, some a kelpie, or a fairy, but most of all, that he was really and truly a Brownie."
- "There was no sound but the endless noise of forest and river, and the sleep-whimper of his kelpie."
- "Gulls scatter before the blur of my insane kelpie."
Etymology
Possibly from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach or colpach, meaning "colt"; recorded earliest in a placename (Kelpie hoall, Kirkcudbrightshire) in 17th century. The dog breed, from 1889, derives from the name shared by the first two breeding bitches (dam and pup) in Victoria, Australia, which in turn derives from the mythological spirit.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: cailpeach