irish
/ˈaɪɹɪʃ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.54 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
The Irish people.
name
A surname originating as an ethnonym.
name
A female given name of chiefly Philippine usage.
adj
Pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people.
Example Sentences
- "Irish is the first official and national language of Ireland."
- "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."
- "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."
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 πῑ́ειρα (pī́eira, “fertile land”), Sanskrit पीव॑री (pī́varī, “fat”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Irish, *Īrisċ, Īras, Írar, Ériu, *Φīweriyū
Usage
- Uncountable
- Obsolete
- American usage
- Countable