(plural Erinyes), one of the three avenging spirits (Alecto, Tisiphone, Megaera) in Greek religion, identified with the Furies, of unknown origin, perhaps "the angry spirit" (compare Arcadian erinein "to be angry," Greek orinein "to raise, stir, excite," eris "strife, discord"). Related: Erinnic; Erinnical (1610s).
