In Celtic and Norse mythology, selkies (also spelled , , ) or selkie folk () meaning 'seal folk' are mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. They are found in folktales and mythology originating from the Northern Isles of Scotland. The folktales frequently revolve around female selkies being coerced into relationships with humans by someone stealing and hiding their sealskin, thus exhibiting the tale motif of the swan maiden type. There are counterparts in Faroese and Icelandic folklore that speak of seal-women and seal-skin. Terminology The Scots language word is diminutive for which strictly speaking means 'grey seal' (Halichoerus grypus). Alternate spellings for the diminutive include: , , , , , , , etc. The term selkie according to Alan Bruford should be treated as meaning any seal with or without the implication of transformation into human form. W. Traill Dennison insisted selkie was the correct term to be applied to these shapeshifters, to be distinguished from the merfolk, and that Samuel Hibbert committed an error in referring to them as mermen and mermaids. However, when other Norse cultures are examined, Icelandic writers also refer to the seal-wives as merfolk (). There also seems to be some conflation between the selkie and finfolk. This confounding only existed in Shetland, claimed Dennison, and that in Orkney the selkie are distinguished from the finfolk, and the selkies' abode undersea is not "Finfolk-a-heem"; this notion, although seconded by Ernest Marwick, has been challenged by Bruford. There is further confusion with the Norse concept of the Finns as shapeshifters, Finns (synonymous with finfolk) being the Shetland dialect name for dwellers of the sea who could remove their seal-skin and transform into humans according to one native correspondent. Gaelic terms In Gaelic stories, specific terms for selkies are rarely used. They are seldom differentiated from mermaids. They are most commonly referred to as in Scottish Gaelic, in Irish, and in Manx ('maiden of the sea' i.e. mermaids) and clearly have the seal-like attributes of selkies. The only term that specifically refers to a selkie but which is only rarely encountered is , or 'seal maiden'. Scottish legend Many of the folk-tales on selkie folk have been collected from the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland). In Orkney lore, selkie is said to denote various seals of greater size than the grey seal; only these large seals are credited