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IRISH | |
| abthane | a monastic region of the old Irish church. |
| acushla | an Irish term of address, darling. |
| aisling | a vision or dream. |
| alannah | my child, a term of endearment used with one's child. |
| alpeen | a cudgel. |
| angashore+ | a miserable person given to complaining |
| arrah | an Anglo-Irish exclamation expressing wonder etc. |
| ardri ardrigh | a title given to the High King of Ireland. [Irishard, noble + ri, king]. |
| asthore | sweetheart. |
| bainin bawneen+ | a type of wool produced in Ireland that is only partially scoured and so retains some natural oil. [Ir. bainin, homespun]. |
| banshee banshie | in Irish folklore, a female spirit who wails and shrieks before the death of a member of a family. |
| barmbrack barnbrack+ | a currant bun. |
| bawn | the fortification round a house, an enclosure for cattle. [Ir. babhun, enclosure]. |
| bedad | an Irish oath, = by God. |
| begorah begorrah begorra | an interjection attributed to Irish speakers. |
| bejabers | another interjection attributed to Irish speakers, = by Jesus! |
| blarney | skilful flattery; nonsense, humbug; (verb) to flatter, humbug. [Blarney Castle, near Cork, where a stone difficult to reach is said to confer the gift of persuasive talk on those who kiss it]. |
| bodhran | a shallow one-sided drum used in Celtic music. |
| bodrag bordraging | a hostile attack, a raid. [Irish buaidreadh]. |
| bogtrotter | one who lives in a boggy country; -- applied in derision to the lowest class of Irish. |
| bonnyclabber | milk naturally clotted on souring. [Irish bainne, milk, + claba, thick]. |
| boreen | a lane. |
| bosthoon+ | a boor |
| bowsie+ bowsey+ | a mean person |
| brehon | a judge or magistrate in ancient Ireland. [Irish breitheamh]. |
| broguery | the use of an Irish accent. |
| buckeen | a poor man who acts as if wealthy. |
| cain kain | rent paid in kind. [Irish cain]. |
| camogie | an Irish game, a form of hurling, played by women. |
| carageen carrageen carragheen | a kind of dark red, branched seaweed; Irish moss. [Irish carraigin, little rock]. |
| chiefery chiefry cheverye | an Irish chieftaincy. |
| claddagh+ | an Irish ring |
| coarb comarb | the head of a family in an Irish sept; an ecclesiastical successor. |
| colcannon | an Irish country dish of potatoes and cabbage. |
| colleen | an Irish girl. [Ir. cailín dim. of caile countrywoman, girl]. |
| corcass | a salt-marsh, or land susceptible to flooding by a river. [Irish corcach]. |
| coshery | the ancient right of an Irish chieftain to quarter himself on his tenants. [Irish coisir, feast]. |
| cottier | an Irish tenant. |
| craic+ | pleasant conversation |
| cratur craythur+ | a woman |
| crios+ | a multi-coloured woollen belt worn by men in the Aran islands: CRIOSES |
| croppy | an Irish rebel of 1798. |
| crubeen | a pig's trotter, as food. [Irish crub, hoof]. |
| cuddy | the right of a lord to entertainment from his tenant. |
| culchie | a rustic, a country labourer. |
| currach curagh curragh | a long-shaped boat similar to a coracle. [Irish curach]. |
| dawney+ | dull or slow |
| donnybrook | a brawl. |
| drisheen | a type of Irish sausage made with sheep's blood. |
| drumlin | a long hill formed by glacial retreat. [Irish druim, ridge, back]. |
| duan | a division of a poem, a canto. |
| dudeen dudheen | a clay pipe. [Ir. duidin, dim. of duid, pipe]. |
| eric eriach erick | a blood-fine paid by a murderer in old Irish law. |
| esker | a long narrow ridge of gravel deposited by a glacial stream. [Irish eiscir, ridge of gravel]. |
| fainne+ | a ring-shaped badge worn to show suport for the Irish language |
| feen+ | an informal word for a man |
| feis | an ancient Irish assembly for the proclamation of laws etc. Pl. FEISEANNA. |
| fiorin | a type of grass. [Irish fiorthan]. |
| fraughan+ | the whortleberry |
| galloglass gallowglass | the irregular infantry of Ireland, and the Highlands of Scotland. [Ir. galloglach, from gall, foreign + oglach, soldier]. |
| galore | an abundnace. [Irish go, a prefix, + leor, sufficiency]. |
| garda | an Irish policeman. Pl. GARDAI. |
| garran garron | a type of small horse. |
| gillaroo | an Irish trout with a thickened muscular stomach. [Irish giolla ruadh, red lad]. |
| gombeen | usury; chiefly used attributively as in gombeen-man, a money-lender, usurer. |
| hooley | a boisterous party. |
| hooligan | a lout, named after a notorious Irish family. |
| jabers | in the Irish oath be jabers, = Jesus. |
| jackeen | a person from Dublin, esp. one with a parochial attitude. |
| kerry | one of an Irish breed of cattle. |
| leprechaun | a small supernatural creature. |
| limerick | a form of humorous verse in a five-line jingle. [Said to be from a refrain formerly used, referring to Limerick in Ireland]. |
| lough | a lake. |
| louser+ | a mean nasty person |
| machree | (Anglo-Irish) an affectionate form of address, my dear. |
| maormor mormaor | a Celtic nobleman. |
| mavourneen mavournin+ | my dear one. |
| moryah+ | an exclamation of annoyance, disbelief etc |
| moygashel | a type of linen manufactured in Northern Ireland. |
| musha | an exclamation of surprise. |
| oanshagh+ | a foolish woman or girl |
| ohone ochone | an Irish interjection of lamentation. |
| ogam ogham | a 6th C. Irish writing alphabet. |
| ogmic ogamic oghamic | relating to OGAM, a 6th C. Irish writing alphabet. |
| ollav ollamh | an Irish master poet. |
| omadhaun | a fool, idiot, simpleton. [Irish amadan]. |
| patrick | a 17C Irish halfpenny. |
| pishoge pishogue | sorcery. [Ir. piseog]. |
| planxty | an Irish or Welsh melody for the harp, sometimes of a mournful character. |
| pollan | a whitefish, plentiful in Irish loughs. |
| pooka | in Irish folklore, a malevolent goblin. |
| poteen potteen potheen poitin+ | illicitly distilled Irish whisky. [Ir. poitin, little pot]. |
| praiseach | a kind of oatmeal porridge. [Irish, from brassica, cabbage]. |
| praty pratie | (Irish coll.) potato. |
| pucan+ | a traditional Connemara open sailing boat |
| rapparee | a wild Irish plunderer, esp. one of the 17th century; -- so called from his carrying a half-pike, in Irish rapaire. |
| rawmaish+ | wild dissolute talk |
| rath | an Irish hill-fort. |
| scraw | a thin sod or turf. [Ir. sgrath]. |
| seannachie shanachie | a traditional storyteller. |
| shagroon | an early settler in New Zealand of other than British origin. [Irish seachran, wandering]. |
| shamus | a private detective |
| shandrydan | an Irish two-wheeled cart; jocular, any worn-out antique vehicle. |
| shebean shebeen | an illicit liquor shop; SHEBEEN can also be used as a verb: to keep in a shebeen. |
| shelta | a secret jargon used by vagrants in Britain and Ireland. [Shelru, poss a perversion of OIr béulra language]. |
| shillala shillelagh shillalah shillelah+ | an Irish cudgel. |
| shinty | an Irish game resembling hockey. |
| shoneen | an Irishman who imitates the ways and manners of the English. |
| sidh+ sidhe+ | fairy people |
| skanger+ | a young working-class person who wears casual clothes |
| slainte | an Irish drinking toast: your health. No plural. |
| sleeveen | a crafty, smooth-talking person. |
| slieve+ | a mountain |
| sliotar+ | a ball used in hurling |
| slumgullion | a watery meat stew. |
| sorehon | an ancient Irish exaction of free accommodation by a lord of a tenant. |
| sorra | sorrow, the devil. |
| spalpeen | a scamp; a good-for-nothing fellow. |
| stalko | (Anglo-Irish) a gentleman without fortune or occupation. Pl. STALKOES. |
| stelk | an Irish dish of onions and mashed potatoes. |
| stim+ | a very small amount |
| stocious stotious | (Irish slang) drunk, intoxicated. |
| streel | to trail, stream. |
| sugan+ | a straw rope |
| swaddler | a term of contempt for an Irish Methodist. |
| taig+ | a derogatory term for a Roman Catholic |
| tanist | a Celtic chief’s heir elect. [Ir. tanaiste, heir]. |
| tanistry | the system of succession by a previously elected member of the family. [Ir. tanaiste, heir]. |
| tanaiste | the deputy Prime Minister of Ireland. [Ir. tanaiste, heir]. |
| toiseach toiseach toshach taoiseach | a Celtic nobleman; also, the Irish Prime Mininster. |
| trouse | Irish close-fitting trews. |
| tuath | a tribe, a people. |
| turlough | a pond that dries up in summer. |
| uillean+ | as in uillean pipes, a kind of bagpipes |
| voteen | a devotee. |
| wisha | an interjection expressing surprise. [Irish mhuis]. |