ankou

noun

an·kou ˈäŋ-(ˌ)kü How to pronounce ankou (audio)

variants or Ankou

: death personified as a skeleton with a scythe or spear especially in the mythology of Brittany, France

Ankou is the figure in Breton myth who collects spirits of the dead and brings them to hell.

Miriam Van Scott, Encyclopedia of Hell, 1998

—often used with the

Legend has it that whenever a cemetery was started, some poor, unfortunate slob was buried alive to create the ankou. — The Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, 28 Oct. 1993… serpents, demons and omens of death including the ankou. — David Powell, The Daily Post (Liverpool, England), 11 Apr. 2005

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Breton, going back to Middle & Old Breton ancou, going back to Indo-European *ṇḱu- "death" (whence Cornish ancou "death," Middle Welsh angheu, Welsh angau, Old Irish éc), zero-grade form of *neḱ- "be destroyed, disappear"

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined above

单词	ankou
释义	ankou noun an·kou ˈäŋ-(ˌ)kü variants or Ankou : death personified as a skeleton with a scythe or spear especially in the mythology of Brittany, France Ankou is the figure in Breton myth who collects spirits of the dead and brings them to hell. Miriam Van Scott, Encyclopedia of Hell, 1998 —often used with the Legend has it that whenever a cemetery was started, some poor, unfortunate slob was buried alive to create the ankou. — The Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, 28 Oct. 1993… serpents, demons and omens of death including the ankou. — David Powell, The Daily Post (Liverpool, England), 11 Apr. 2005 Word History Etymology borrowed from Breton, going back to Middle & Old Breton ancou, going back to Indo-European ṇḱu- "death" (whence Cornish ancou* "death," Middle Welsh angheu, Welsh angau, Old Irish éc), zero-grade form of *neḱ- "be destroyed, disappear" First Known Use 1869, in the meaning defined above
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