Definition of "selkie" []

• A creature or spirit in Scottish and Irish folklore that has the form of a seal but can also assume human form. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "“A selkie is a seal creature who can remove his or her pelt and assume human form,” Munro said."
• "His latest, Ondine (2009, Paramount, 12), finds Jordan returning to more rewardingly lyrical fare with a whimsical tale of a lonely fisherman (Colin Farrell) who catches a "selkie" (half woman, half seal) and finds himself entrapped in a tightening emotional net."
• "The "selkie" object is a seal that was washed up onto the beach."