spalpeen

[ spal-peen, spal-peen ]

/ spælˈpin, ˈspæl pin /

noun Irish English.

a lad or boy.

a rascal; scamp.

Nearby words

spalding, spall, spallanzani, spallation, spallation product, spalpeen, spam, spambot, spammie, spamming, span

Origin of spalpeen

1770–80; < Irish spailpín seasonal hired laborer, rude person, scamp, equivalent to spailp spell, bout, turn + -ín noun suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spalpeen

I hadnt me shillaleh wid me, and I was in too much danger of overhauling the spalpeen.
The Boy Patrol Around the Council Fire|Edward Sylvester Ellis
"Divil an inch," replied the spalpeen; but he got himself off the threshold, and returned his position on the step.
A Rivermouth Romance|Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Leave that gun like she is, you spalpeen, or I'll send you to the fishes!
A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F.|Rutherford G. Montgomery
Isn't it in comfort I'm lying for the first time since that spalpeen behind the hedge tried to fell me to the earth?
Light O' The Morning|L. T. Meade

“Divil an inch,” replied the spalpeen; but he got himself off the threshold and resumed his position on the step.
Little Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor, Volume II|Various

British Dictionary definitions for spalpeen

spalpeen

/ (ˈspælpiːn) /

noun Irish

an itinerant seasonal labourer

a rascal or layabout

Word Origin for spalpeen

C18: from Irish Gaelic spailpín itinerant labourer

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