mavourneen

or ma·vour·nin

[ muh-voor-neen, -vawr-, -vohr- ]

nounIrish English.
  1. darling; dear.

Origin of mavourneen

1
First recorded in 1790–1800, mavourneen is from Irish mo mhuirnín “my darling”

Words Nearby mavourneen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mavourneen in a sentence

  • Lady mavourneen, who tells a little story with great humor, described a scene in a crowded church in Paris.

    From the Easy Chair, series 2 | George William Curtis
  • The courtesy which Lady mavourneen observed in the railway station and in the street was plain, but it was genuine.

    From the Easy Chair, series 2 | George William Curtis
  • "It's quite all right, mavourneen," he assured her mischievously.

    Kenny | Leona Dalrymple
  • Your father will be sorry you take it like that, mavourneen.

  • One is not surprised at their being addressed by such mellifluous epithets as Cushla machree, asthore, mavourneen!

    Romantic Ireland; volume 2/2 | M.F and B. McM. Mansfield

British Dictionary definitions for mavourneen

mavourneen

mavournin

/ (məˈvʊəniːn) /


noun
  1. Irish my darling

Origin of mavourneen

1
C18: from Irish, from mo my + muirnīn love

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012