Irish
proper nounnounadjectivecommon in dialogue
- //ˈaɪɹɪʃ//
- //ˈaɪəɹɪʃ//
- //ˈaɪɹəʃ//
The Gaelic language indigenous to Ireland, also known as Irish Gaelic.
proper noun
- 1
The Gaelic language indigenous to Ireland, also known as Irish Gaelic.
Irish is the first official and national language of Ireland.
- 2
The Irish people.
Many Irish are actually dark-haired as a result of the many invaders and migrants over the centuries.
America used to love dams... Yes, and we built those dams with ingenuity and brawn and, of course, piles and piles of dead Irish.
- 3
A surname originating as an ethnonym.
- 4
A female given name of chiefly Philippine usage.
Etymology
From Middle English Irish (12th c.), from Old English *Īrisċ, from Old English Īras (“Irishmen”), from Old Norse Írar, from Old Irish Ériu (modern Irish Éire (“Ireland”)), further origin heavily debated but probably from Proto-Celtic *Φīweriyū (“fat land, fertile”), from Proto-Indo-European *péyh₂wr̥ (“fat, swelling”), from *peyh₂- (“to swell; to be fat”), akin to Ancient Greek πίειρα (píeira, “fertile land”), Sanskrit पीवरी (pīvarī, “fat”).
noun
- 1
obsoleteA board game of the tables family.
- 2
Temper; anger, passion.
But her Irish was up too high to do any thing with her, and so I quit trying.
Whenever he got his Irish up, Clancy lowered the boom.
The Priest is as fierce a fighter as I am when he gets his Irish up.
- 3
Whiskey, or whisky, elaborated in Ireland.
Harris said he'd had enough oratory for one night, and proposed that we should go out and have a smile, saying that he had found a place, round by the square, where you could really get a drop of Irish worth drinking.
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people.
Sheep are typical in the Irish landscape.
A. Fink-Nottle: But it's absolute balderdash, Bertie. I mean, listen to this: "Sure and begorrah, I don't know what's after being the matter with you, Michael." I mean, what on earth is this "what's after being" stuff mean? B.W. Wooster: My dear old Gussie, that is how people think Irish people talk.
My genes would best be described as a melting pot – my mother is part Bulgarian Roma, part Romanichal (English Romany), and my dad is part Romanichal, part Irish Traveller – thus, it was hardly surprising when I was born a blue-eyed milk bottle.
- 2
Pertaining to the Irish language.
Forms
- plural
- Irishes
- comparative
- more Irish
- superlative
- most Irish
Irish · The Gaelic language indigenous to Ireland, also known as Irish Gaelic.
Irma · A female given name from the Germanic languages.iron · A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished,…Iron · The 57th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.