Geas

//ɡɛʃ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A (generally magical) vow, obligation or injunction placed upon someone to do or not do something, which typically brings harm if violated and blessings if obeyed.

    "It can send us where it will with a task laid upon us—a geas, if you like."

  2. 2
    A mystical compulsion.

    "The memory came upon him like a geas, overwhelming his revulsion, numbing his heart."

Synonyms

All synonyms
geis

Example

More examples

"It can send us where it will with a task laid upon us—a geas, if you like."

Etymology

Borrowed, like English geis, from Irish geis (“injunction; taboo, prohibition, spell”). The pronunciation resembles Irish geis, though the spelling matches its synonymous but heterophonous alternative form geas.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.