Erinny

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A female spirit of vengeance in ancient mythology associated with punishing crimes and moral offenses
2. A supernatural avenging entity originating in classical legend that enforces justice and retribution for wrongdoing
3. A mythic divine figure believed to pursue and punish evildoers as an agent of vengeance and moral reckoning

Etymology: Erinny is the Greek word for the Furies, the avenging spirits of Greek myth, and it is a Latinized form of their name, "Erinys." In Greek the name was used in the singular for one of these spirits, and the plural "Erinyes" was the more common way to refer to the group. Early Greek writers linked the name to the idea of anger and to the Erinyes' role in punishing crimes within families, especially murder, though the exact root of the name is uncertain. English took the word in its Latin spelling, "Erinys," and later the form "erinny," usually to refer to a single figure. Its use is literary and scholarly, mostly found in classical translations and discussions of Greek tragedy, where writers often needed a precise term for one of these vengeful beings.

Synonyms: fury, avenger, vengeful spirit, daemon