korrigan
noun/ˈkɒɹɪɡən/ · /ˈkɒɹəɡən/
Etymology Borrowed from Breton korrigan, from korr (“dwarf”) + -ig (diminutive suffix) + -an (hypocoristic suffix).
1
Arts, Folklore, History, Human sciences, Literature, Media, Mysticism, Mythology, Philosophy, Publishing, Sciences A long-haired nocturnal and often malevolent Breton fairy princess; such creatures considered collectively.
- The Korrigan, our authority further states, can predict the future, assume any form they please, move from place to place with the rapidity of thought, cure maladies by the aid of charms which they communicate to their favourites.1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 431:
- Like fairies in general the Korrigan steal children, against which the remedy usually employed is, to place the child under the protection of the Virgin, by putting a rosary or a scapulary about its neck.1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 432:
1 more example
- A continental Celtic female fairy called a corrigan, malevolent, sometimes seductive.1945, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, HarperCollins, published 2019, →ISBN, page 9: