Kelpie
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: Kelpy
A spirit of the waters m the form of a horse, in Scottish fairy-lore. It was supposed to take a delight in the drowning of travellers, but also occasionally helped millers by keeping the mill-wheel going at night.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Kelpie” mean?
A spirit of the waters m the form of a horse, in Scottish fairy-lore. It was supposed to take a delight in the drowning of travellers, but also occasionally helped millers by keeping the mill-wheel going at night.
Is “Kelpie” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.