colleen
[ kol-een, ko-leen ]
/ ˈkɒl in, kɒˈlin /
Save This Word!
noun
an Irish girl.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON PARENTHESES AND BRACKETS APLENTY!
Set some time apart to test your bracket symbol knowledge, and see if you can keep your parentheses, squares, curlies, and angles all straight!
Question 1 of 7
Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT 
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of colleen
1820–30; <Irish cailín, equivalent to caile girl, wench + -ín diminutive suffix
Words nearby colleen
Definition for colleen (2 of 2)
Colleen
[ kol-een, ko-leen ]
/ ˈkɒl in, kɒˈlin /
noun
a female given name: from an Irish word meaning “girl.”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for colleen
British Dictionary definitions for colleen
Word Origin for colleen
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