Strigoi is a Romanian word that originated from a root related to the Latin terms "strix" or "striga" with the addition of the augmentative suffix (feminine "-oaie"). Otila Hedeşan notes that the same augmentative suffix appears in the related terms "moroi" and "bosorcoi" and considers this parallel derivation to indicate membership in the same "mythological micro-system." The "-oi" suffix notably converts feminine terms to the masculine gender as well as often investing it with a complex mixture of augmentation and pejoration. The root has been related particularly to owls. Cognates are found throughout the Romance languages, such as the Italian words "strega" or the Venetian word "strìga" which mean "witch". The Italian "" even has the parallel cognate augmentative suffix and means "sorceror." In French, "stryge" means a bird-woman who sucks the blood of children. Jules Verne used the term "stryges" in Chapter II of his novel "The Castle of the Carpathians", published in 1892. The Greek word "Strix", Polish "strzyga" and the Albanian word "shtriga" are also cognate.