colleen

[ kol-een, ko-leen ]
See synonyms for colleen on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an Irish girl.

Origin of colleen

1
1820–30; <Irish cailín, equivalent to caile girl, wench + -ín diminutive suffix

Words Nearby colleen

Other definitions for Colleen (2 of 2)

Colleen
[ kol-een, ko-leen ]

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

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

How to use colleen in a sentence

  • The colleen Bawn is a tissue of improbabilities and extravagances.

    The English Stage | Augustin Filon
  • colleen, you've the wisdom of the ages in your head right now.

    Kenny | Leona Dalrymple
  • That last––the thought that our skipper or the vessel might get mixed up in it––kept us aboard the colleen Bawn.

    The Seiners | James B. (James Brendan) Connolly
  • The colleen left her behind, and she at last drew off after bunching a few farewell shots.

    The Seiners | James B. (James Brendan) Connolly
  • The colleen was pretty well inshore then, and yet safe outside the three-mile limit in our judgment.

    The Seiners | James B. (James Brendan) Connolly

British Dictionary definitions for colleen

colleen

/ (ˈkɒliːn, kɒˈliːn) /


noun
  1. an Irish word for girl

  2. an Irish girl

Origin of colleen

1
C19: from Irish Gaelic cailín a girl, a young unmarried woman

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