selkie means A seal which can magically transform into a human by shedding its skin. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “selkie” is a great word
SELKIE — [Noun] A mythological creature of Scottish and Irish folklore that lives as a seal in the sea but can shed its skin to assume human form on land. The name derives from Scots *selkie fowk*, meaning ‘seal folk’. Unlike a *mermaid*, a permanent hybrid of human and fish, or a *werewolf*, a human cursed into involuntary transformation, a selkie is a creature of two perfect states, its metamorphosis a deliberate act of shedding. It is the glistening pelt left folded on a moonlit rock, the profound sorrow in a stranger's eyes forever scanning the horizon, and the irresistible, gravitational pull of the storm that calls her home—a story of belonging that is always, in its very nature, a story of loss.
Etymology
From Scots selkie fowk (“seal folk”).
noun
- A seal which can magically transform into a human by shedding its skin.
- Either of two similar-looking seals.; The common seal (harbor seal) (Phoca vitulina).
- Either of two similar-looking seals.; The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus).