Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fenian

/ˈfi.ni.ən/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.21 in modern English

Syllables
Fen-i-an
IPA
/ˈfi.ni.ən/
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or relating to roving bands of hunter-warriors in ancient Ireland, especially the band led by the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill in Irish mythology; (generally) of or relating to the people of ancient Ireland.

adj

Of or relating to organizations opposing British rule in Ireland, especially the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood which were active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

British usage

adj

Of or relating to a Roman Catholic, chiefly one of Irish descent or ethnicity.

Derogatory; Offensive

adj

Of or relating to the Scottish association football club Celtic Football Club.

Derogatory; Offensive

noun

A member of a roving band of hunter-warriors in ancient Ireland, especially the band led by the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill in Irish mythology; (generally) a person of ancient Ireland.

noun

A member of an organization opposing British rule in Ireland, especially the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood which were active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; (generally) an Irish nationalist or republican.

British usage

noun

A Roman Catholic person, chiefly one of Irish descent or ethnicity.

Derogatory; Offensive

noun

A supporter of the Scottish association football club Celtic Football Club.

Derogatory; Offensive

Example Sentences

Etymology

Partly from both of the following: * from Old Irish Féni (“originally the legendary people who inhabited Ireland; later the Irish people generally, especially those belonging to the social class of free citizens”, plural); further etymology uncertain, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to bring; to transport”) (whence wagon and wain; referring to the use of chariots); and * from Irish fian, fiann (“roving band of (legendary) warrior-hunters”) (generally a view taken by English-speaking scholars, possibly due to the similarity between Old Irish Féni and Irish féine, féinne, the genitive singular forms of fian and fiann), from Old Irish fían, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- (“to chase, pursue”); + English -ian (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘from; related to’; and forming nouns with the sense ‘one from or related to’). The adjective is attested slightly earlier than the noun.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈfi.ni.ən/
  • British English: /ˈfiː.ni.ən/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Fenians (plural)

Derived Forms

Fenianism Fenianist

Phrases

Fenian Cycle

Synonyms

taig Tim

Antonyms

Orangey Prod

Rhymes With

armenian athenian slovenian tyrrhenian beethovenian ruthenian ibsenian cyrenian parthenian austenian palmyrenian sophenian

Questions

How do you pronounce fenian?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfi.ni.ən/.
What does fenian mean?
Of or relating to roving bands of hunter-warriors in ancient Ireland, especially the band led by the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill in Irish mythology; (generally) of or relating to the people of ancient Ireland.
Where does fenian come from?
It is traced to Proto-Indo-European.

How to pronounce fenian

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fenian”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfi.ni.ən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fenian”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “fenian” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.