Scotch-Irish
Americannoun
adjective
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of or relating to the Scotch-Irish.
-
of mixed Scottish and Irish descent.
Commonly Confused
See Scotch.
Etymology
Origin of Scotch-Irish
First recorded in 1735–45
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.
The terms Scots-Irish, Scotch-Irish and Ulster-Scots relate to people who left Scotland, settled as part of the Ulster plantation and then moved on to North America.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025
Drawing on Scotch-Irish folk tradition — selkies, merpeople — the musical tells the story of an island split in two.
From New York Times ● May 20, 2022
The Lamonts carried yet another Calvinist strand, Scotch-Irish, which was more defiant of established power.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2018
Jordan Vilchez’s parents were Berkeley progressives in the 1960s — her father African-American, her mother Scotch-Irish.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 2018
Then McWatt’s sparsely freckled tan Scotch-Irish face broke sud 354 denly into a smile and he dug his knuckles playfully into Yossarian’s ribs, as though throwing a punch.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
