colleen

¹ American  

[kol-een, ko-leen] / ˈkɒl in, kɒˈlin /

noun

1. an Irish girl.

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Colleen ² American  

[kol-een, ko-leen] / ˈkɒl in, kɒˈlin /

noun

1. a female given name: from an Irish word meaning “girl.”

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colleen British  

/ kɒˈliːn, ˈkɒliːn /

noun

1. an Irish word for girl

2. an Irish girl

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Etymology

Origin of colleen

1820–30; < Irish cailín, equivalent to caile girl, wench + -ín diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

“You could tell us a story without any colleens or battles in it.”

From Literature

Wilmington described O’Hara as “Hollywood’s ultimate fiery colleen, she has a classic chiseled Irish beauty and a thinly strapped temper that erupted smashingly into scathing tantrums or round-house rights.”

From Los Angeles Times

And the neighbours all pity the colleen so pretty,

From BBC

The Hitch The inhabitants of a neighboring barren, windswept Irish island want parts in it, including the play’s misshapen title character and a sociopathic colleen named Slippy Helen.

From New York Times

“When you get older, like me, you brush it on the underside to hide the jowls,” he said, tapping at his neck as the colleens’ mothers chortled empathetically.

From New York Times

Related Words

• maid
• maiden