Irish

American  

[ahy-rish] / ˈaɪ rɪʃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Ireland, its inhabitants, or their language.

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noun

1. the inhabitants of Ireland and their descendants elsewhere.

2. the aboriginal Celtic-speaking people of Ireland.

3. Also called Irish Gaelic.  the Celtic language of Ireland in its historical or modern form. Ir, Ir.

4. Irish English.

5. Irish whiskey.

idioms

1. get one's Irish up, to become angry or outraged.

   Don't go getting your Irish up over a little matter like that.

Irish British  

/ ˈaɪrɪʃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Ireland, its people, their Celtic language, or their dialect of English

2. informal ludicrous or illogical

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noun

1. (functioning as plural) the natives or inhabitants of Ireland

2. another name for Irish Gaelic

Irish More Idioms  

1. see luck of the devil (Irish).

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Sensitive Note

See Irish pennant.

Other Word Forms

• Irishly adverb
• anti-Irish adjective
• half-Irish adjective
• non-Irish adjective
• pre-Irish adjective
• pro-Irish adjective
• pseudo-Irish adjective

Etymology

Origin of Irish

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English Yrisse, Iris(c)h; compare Old English Īras people of Ireland (cognate with Old Norse Īrar ); -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Ask those who organised Irish President Catherine Connolly's trip to Northern Ireland this week.

From BBC

"We will have another game plan for the Irish."

From Barron's

Scotland and the British and Irish Lions have both benefited.

From BBC

The video for Opalite premiered on Friday, and stars Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson as a "lonely man" who summons Swift into his life by spraying a magic potion on his beloved cactus.

From BBC

He was found with an Irish passport in the name of Danny Webb and had worked as an IT consultant but little is known of his whereabouts during his 21 years on the run.

From BBC