Erse

American

[urs] / ɜrs /

noun

Gaelic, especially Scottish Gaelic.

adjective

of or relating to Gaelic, especially Scottish Gaelic.

Erse British

/ ɜːs /

noun

another name for Irish Gaelic

"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

adjective

of or relating to the Irish Gaelic language

"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

Etymology

Origin of Erse

C14: from Lowland Scots Erisch Irish; Irish being regarded as the literary form of Gaelic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was the compiler of a polyglot dictionary in the Manx, Gaelic, and Erse languages.

From Project Gutenberg

—Is sept a word of Erse etymology; and, if not, of what other?

From Project Gutenberg

He never made the mistake into which so many have fallen of calling it “Erse.”

From Project Gutenberg

Erse, ėrs, n. the name given by the Lowland Scotch to the language of the people of the West Highlands, as being of Irish origin—now sometimes used for Irish, as opposed to Scotch, Gaelic.

From Project Gutenberg

It was no sight for young eyes, and I saw Steel shudder; but there was wild Erse blood in the girl, and, holding one arm up, she stood erect, facing us again.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023