mavourneen

or ma·vour·nin

[muh-voo r-neen, -vawr-, -vohr-]

noun Irish English.

darling; dear.

Origin of mavourneen

First recorded in 1790–1800, mavourneen is from the Irish word mo mhuirnín my darling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mavourneen

Historical Examples of mavourneen

Ah, mavourneen, mavourneen, you'll never come back alive to me again.
The Purcell Papers
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Ay, but you're not promisin', Bobby mavourneen; you're not promisin' all the time.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. II, No. X., March 1851
Various
Mavourneen, you must save me quick, or worse will happen yet.
Curly
Roger Pocock
Hallo, Kathleen mavourneen, I draw the line at the poker, young lady.
The Tree of Knowledge
Mrs. Baillie Reynolds
That you, Mavourneen, wish to set your heel on Ulster's head.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 103, July 9, 1892
Various

British Dictionary definitions for mavourneen

mavourneen

mavournin

noun

Irish my darling

Word Origin for mavourneen

C18: from Irish, from mo my + muirnīn love

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