Gaelic
Americannoun
adjective
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Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Gaelic
First recorded in 1590–1600; Gael + -ic (representing Scots Gaelic Gaidhlig, derivative of Gaidheal Gael )
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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.
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McCarthy named the boy Cullen, an anglicized form of a Gaelic word meaning, roughly, “young hound” or “handsome one.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The pair watched their following grow, drawing interest from Irish cafes and tourist destinations to the local Gaelic sports club in Colorado.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Long lost oyster beds on the West Coast of Scotland have been rediscovered thanks to Gaelic and Scots language.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
One of its more compelling chapters deals with James Macpherson, an 18th-century Scotsman who published an epic, “Fingal,” claiming to have translated the previously unknown work of a Gaelic bard named Ossian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Burnham High has a school plaid, a school crest with a thistle and a couple of those Scottish knives they stick in their socks, and a Gaelic motto.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
"My mother Gaelics like the Scotch," he said.
From The Cursed Patois From "Mackinac And Lake Stories", 1899 by Mary Hartwell Catherwood
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
