[Ads-l] RES: It was not permitted to pass.

[Robin Hamilton]

<<

So, Oxford says that Sheela-na-gig was originally Irish as 'Sile na gcíoch" or
‘Julia of the breasts.’ (Seems to me Julia of the vagina would have been more
apt, but then...) So, is there any chance that Sile/Sheela led eventually to
Aussies and Kiwis referring to girls as Sheila? Just wondering.

DAD

>>

Almost certainly no connection.

GDoS has the term (in the form SHALER) from 1839 in the UK, and (as SHEILA) from
1909 in Australia.

Etymology:  "proper name _Sheila_, ult. Irish _caille_, a young girl."

>From the dating of the citations, it looks as if it starts off in the UK as
"shaler" and retains this form till about 1900 (with no post-1900 citations),
when the "sheila" appears, first in Australia.  After 1900, no Shalers anywhere,
only Sheilas everywhere.

RH

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