kelpie
noun
[ ˈkɛlpi ]
• a water spirit of Scottish folklore, typically taking the form of a horse and reputed to delight in the drowning of travellers.
• a sheepdog of an Australian breed with a smooth coat, originally bred from a Scottish collie.
Origin:
late 17th century: perhaps from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach, colpach ‘bullock, colt’. kelpie (sense 2) apparently comes from the name of a particular bitch, King's Kelpie ( c. 1879).
