Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An imaginary spirit of the waters, generally appearing in the form of a horse, who was believed to give warning of approaching death by drowning, and sometimes maliciously to assist in drowning persons.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Scotch Myth.) An imaginary spirit of the waters, horselike in form, vulgarly believed to warn, by preternatural noises and lights, those who are to be drowned.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- 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 ofsheepdog .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (Scottish folklore) water spirit in the form of a horse that likes to drown its riders
- noun an Australian sheepdog with pointed ears
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The kelpie is a working sheepdog, a participator in dog trials, public displays of skill in marshaling sheep into pens.
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According to legend, the stone is cursed and guarded by a malevolent water-demon, or kelpie-type entity, who protects it savagely.
intertribal: the black dog and the scottish play, indeed intertribal 2010
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It's based on "Bridle" (Sirenia Digest #3, February 2006), which a few of you might remember, the kelpie story.
"...my words will turn to anger. Malevolence in need..." greygirlbeast 2010
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In "Bridle," an equally unhappy woman begins to have unnerving dreams about a kelpie trapped in a small pond near her home.
Bonkus on the Konkus nineweaving 2010
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I still favour travelling behind a few hundred steers on a bike or horse with a faithful kelpie as a way to bust through to anywhere.
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In "Bridle," an equally unhappy woman begins to have unnerving dreams about a kelpie trapped in a small pond near her home.
Bonkus on the Konkus nineweaving 2010
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According to legend, the stone is cursed and guarded by a malevolent water-demon, or kelpie-type entity, who protects it savagely.
the black dog and the scottish play, indeed intertribal 2010
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It's based on "Bridle" (Sirenia Digest #3, February 2006), which a few of you might remember, the kelpie story.
"...my words will turn to anger. Malevolence in need..." greygirlbeast 2010
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It won't be long until my 14 year old kelpie needs an Emma.
back on the roundabout Another Outspoken Female 2008
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The dog in the story is not a gentle kelpie but a fearsome fighting hound, and he dies from battle wounds.
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » Love, loss and deadlines 2008
chained_bear commented on the word kelpie
A mythical Scottish water spirit, but also an Australian breed of dog: "probably descended from the border collie and the dingo, this breed has been known since 1870," according to Simon & Schuster's Guide to Dogs, 1980.
February 21, 2007