Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga is a female character (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) from Slavic folklore who has two contrasting roles. In some narratives, she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is depicted as a nice old woman who helps the hero. Both versions often depict her as a witch. She is often associated with forest wildlife. Her distinctive traits are flying around in a wooden mortar, wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in a hut with chicken legs.

Etymology
Variations of the name Baba Yaga are found in many Slavic languages. In Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Romanian and Bulgarian, baba means 'grandmother' or 'old woman'. In contemporary Polish and Russian, baba / баба is also a pejorative synonym for 'woman', in particular one who is old, dirty, or foolish.
The etymology of yaga is less clear, and there is no consensus among scholars about its meaning. In the 19th century, Alexander Afanasyev proposed the derivation of Proto-Slavic *ož and Sanskrit ahi ('serpent'). This etymology has been explored by 20th-century scholars. Related terms include the Serbian and Croatian jeza ('horror', 'shudder', 'chill'), Slovene jeza ('anger'), Old Czech jězě ('witch', 'legendary evil female being'), modern Czech jezinka ('wicked wood nymph', 'dryad'), and Polish jędza ('witch', 'evil woman', 'fury'). The term appears in Old Church Slavonic as jęza/jędza ('disease'). In other Indo-European languages, the element iaga has been linked to Lithuanian engti ('to abuse (continuously)', 'to belittle', 'to exploit'), Old English inca ('doubt', 'worry', 'pain'), and Old Norse ekki ('pain', 'worry').…