Meanings
proper noun
- uncountableThe Gaelic language indigenous to Ireland, also known as Irish Gaelic.
Irish is the first official and national language of Ireland.
- The Irish people.
Many Irish are actually dark-haired as a result of the many invaders and migrants over the centuries.
1 more example
America used to love dams... Yes, and we built those dams with ingenuity and brawn and, of course, piles and piles of dead Irish.
2015 March 1, “Infrastructure”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 2, episode 4, John Oliver (actor), via HBO - A surname originating as an ethnonym.
- A female given name of chiefly Philippine usage.
nounIrish (countable and uncountable, plural Irish or Irishes)
plural Irishes
- obsoleteuncountableA board game of the tables family.
- USuncountableTemper; anger, passion.
Whenever he got his Irish up, Clancy lowered the boom.
1947, Hy Heath, John Lange, Clancy Lowered the Boom2 more examples
But her Irish was up too high to do any thing with her, and so I quit trying.
1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, Nebraska, published 1987, page 65The Priest is as fierce a fighter as I am when he gets his Irish up.
1997, Andrew M. Greeley, Irish Lace, page 296 - countableuncountableWhiskey, or whisky, elaborated in Ireland.
Harris said he'd had enough oratory for one night, and proposed that we should go out and have a smile, saying that he had found a place, round by the square, where you could really get a drop of Irish worth drinking.
1889, Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat […]
adjectiveIrish (comparative more Irish, superlative most Irish)
comparative more Irish · superlative most Irish
- Pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people.
Sheep are typical in the Irish landscape.
2 more examples
A. Fink-Nottle: But it's absolute balderdash, Bertie. I mean, listen to this: "Sure and begorrah, I don't know what's after being the matter with you, Michael." I mean, what on earth is this "what's after being" stuff mean? B.W. Wooster: My dear old Gussie, that is how people think Irish people talk.
1992 April 26, “Hot Off the Press”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 5My genes would best be described as a melting pot – my mother is part Bulgarian Roma, part Romanichal (English Romany), and my dad is part Romanichal, part Irish Traveller – thus, it was hardly surprising when I was born a blue-eyed milk bottle.
2013 October 25, Filip Borev, “I was a pale Roma baby – it's always been a family joke that I was stolen”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Aug 2022 - Pertaining to the Irish language.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe Celtic language of Ireland
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*péyh₂wr̥“fat, swelling”
- Proto-Celtic*Φīweriyū“fat land, fertile”
- Old IrishÉriu
- Old NorseÍrar
- Old EnglishĪras“Irishmen”
- Old English*Īrisċ
- Middle EnglishIrish
- EnglishIrish
From Middle English Irish (12th c.), from Old English *Īrisċ, from Old English Īras (“Irishmen”), from Old Norse Írar, from Old Irish Ériu (modern Irish Éire (“Ireland”)), further origin heavily debated but probably from Proto-Celtic *Φīweriyū (“fat land, fertile”), from Proto-Indo-European *péyh₂wr̥ (“fat, swelling”), from *peyh₂- (“to swell; to be fat”), akin to Ancient Greek πῑ́ειρα (pī́eira, “fertile land”), Sanskrit पीव॑री (pī́varī, “fat”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Iers, Iere
- Iersthe language
- Ierethe people
- Ierspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- Ierspertaining to the language
Arabic أَيِرْلَنْدِيّ, إِيرْلَنْدِيّ
- أَيِرْلَنْدِيّ (ʔayirlandiyy)the language
- إِيرْلَنْدِيّ (ʔirlandiyy)the people
- إِيرْلَنْدِيَّة (ʔīrlandiyya)the people
- إِيرْلَنْدِيّ (ʔīrlandiyy)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Basque gaelera, irlandera
- gaelerathe language
- irlanderathe language
- irlandarpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Bengali আইরিশ
- আইরিশ (airiś)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Bulgarian ирла́ндец, ирла́ндка
- ирла́ндец (irlándec)the people
- ирла́ндка (irlándka)the people
- ирла́ндче (irlándče)the people
- ирла́ндски (irlándski)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Catalan irlandès, gaèlic irlandès
- irlandèsthe language
- gaèlic irlandèsthe language
- irlandésthe language
- gaèlic irlandésthe language
- irlandesosthe people
- irlandèspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandéspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandèspertaining to the language
- irlandéspertaining to the language
Chinese Mandarin 愛爾蘭語 /爱尔兰语, 愛爾蘭人 /爱尔兰人
- 愛爾蘭語 /爱尔兰语 (ài'ěrlányǔ)the language
- 愛爾蘭人 /爱尔兰人 (Ài'ěrlánrén)the people
- 愛爾蘭的 /爱尔兰的 (Ài'ěrlán de)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- 愛爾蘭語的 /爱尔兰语的 (ài'ěrlányǔ de)pertaining to the language
Classical Gaelic Gaoidhealg
- Gaoidhealgthe language
Czech irština, Ir
- irštinathe language
- Irthe people
- Irkathe people
- irskýpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Danish irsk, irsk
- irskthe language
- irskpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irskpertaining to the language
Dutch Iers, Iers
- Iersthe language
- Ierspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- Ierspertaining to the language
Esperanto irlanda lingvo, irlanda
- irlanda lingvothe language
- irlandapertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandlingvapertaining to the language
Estonian iiri keel, iiri
- iiri keelthe language
- iiripertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Finnish iiri, irlantilaiset
- iirithe language
- irlantilaisetthe people
- irlantilainenpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irkku-pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- iirinkielinenpertaining to the language
- iirinpertaining to the language
- irlanninkielinenpertaining to the language
- irlanninpertaining to the language
French irlandais, gaélique irlandais
- irlandaisthe language
- gaélique irlandaisthe language
- Irlandaisthe people
- Irlandaisethe people
- irlandaispertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandaispertaining to the language
- gaéliquepertaining to the language
German Irisch, Irisch-Gälisch
- Irischthe language
- Irisch-Gälischthe language
- Gälischthe language
- Irethe people
- Irinthe people
- irischpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irländischpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- Irischpertaining to the language
Greek ιρλανδικά
- ιρλανδικά (irlandiká)the language
Hawaiian ʻIlelani, ʻIlelani
- ʻIlelanithe people
- ʻIlelanipertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- ʻIlelanipertaining to the language
Hebrew אִירִית, אירים
- אִירִית (irit)the language
- אירים (Írim)the people
- אִירִי (iri)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Hindi आयरिश
- आयरिश (āyriś)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Hungarian ír, ír
- írthe language
- írpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Icelandic írska, Írlendingar
- írskathe language
- Írlendingarthe people
- írskurpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Indonesian Irlandia, Irlandia
- Irlandiathe language
- Irlandiapertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Irish Gaeilge, Gaelainn
- Gaeilgethe language
- Gaelainnthe language
- Gaedhilgthe language
- Gaeilge na hÉireannthe language
- Éireannachthe people
- Gaelthe people
- Éireannachpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- Gaelachpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- Gaelachpertaining to the language
Italian irlandese, gaelico
- irlandesethe language
- gaelicothe language
- irlandesethe people
- irlandesepertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandesepertaining to the language
Japanese アイルランド語, アイルランド人
- アイルランド語 (Airurandogo)the language
- アイルランド人 (Airurandojin)the people
- アイルランドの (Airurando no)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- アイルランド語の (Airurandogo no)pertaining to the language
Korean 아일랜드어, 아일랜드인
- 아일랜드어 (aillaendeueo)the language
- 아일랜드인 (aillaendeu'in)the people
- 아일랜드 사람 (aillaendeu saram)the people
- 아일랜드의 (Aillaendeu-ui)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- 아일랜드어의 (aillaendeueo-ui)pertaining to the language
Latvian īru valoda, īru
- īru valodathe language
- īruthe language
- īrsthe people
- īrietethe people
- īrupertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- īriskspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- īrupertaining to the language
- īriskspertaining to the language
Lithuanian airių, airių kalba
- airiųthe language
- airių kalbathe language
- airiškaspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- airiųpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Malay Ireland
- Irelandpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Norwegian Bokmål irsk, irsk
- irskthe language
- irskpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irskpertaining to the language
Persian ایرلندی, ایرلندی
- ایرلندی (irlandi)the language
- ایرلندی (irlandi)the people
- ایرلندی (irlandi)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- ایرلندی (irlandi)pertaining to the language
Polish język irlandzki, iryjski
- język irlandzkithe language
- iryjskithe language
- Irlandczykthe people
- Irlandkathe people
- tryktrak irlandzkiboard game
- irlandzkipertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandzkipertaining to the language
Portuguese irlandês, gaélico
- irlandêsthe language
- gaélicothe language
- irlandesesthe people
- irlandêspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandêspertaining to the language
Romanian irlandeză, irlandez
- irlandezăthe language
- irlandezthe people
- irlandezpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandezpertaining to the language
Russian и́рландский, ирла́ндцы
- и́рландский (írlandskij)the language
- ирла́ндцы (irlándcy)the people
- ирла́ндец (irlándec)the people
- ирла́ндка (irlándka)the people
- ирла́ндский (irlándskij)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- ирла́ндский (irlándskij)pertaining to the language
Scottish Gaelic Gaeilge, na h-Èireannaich
- Gaeilgethe language
- na h-Èireannaichthe people
- Èireannachpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Slovak Ír, Írka
- Írthe people
- Írkathe people
- irskýpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Spanish irlandés, irlandeses
- irlandésthe language
- irlandesesthe people
- irlandéspertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- irlandéspertaining to the language
Swedish iriska, irländsk
- iriskathe language
- irländskpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- iriskpertaining to the language
Tagalog Irlandes, Irlandes
- Irlandesthe language
- Irlandesthe people
- Irlandespertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- Irlandespertaining to the language
Thai ไอริช, ไอร์แลนด์
- ไอริชpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- ไอร์แลนด์ (ai-lɛɛn)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- ไอริชpertaining to the language
Turkish İrlandaca, İrlanda
- İrlandacathe language
- İrlandapertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Ukrainian ірла́ндська мо́ва, ірла́ндська
- ірла́ндська мо́ва (irlándsʹka móva)the language
- ірла́ндська (irlándsʹka)the language
- ірла́ндець (irlándecʹ)the people
- ірла́ндка (irlándka)the people
- ірла́ндський (irlándsʹkyj)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Urdu آئرستانی, آئرش
- آئرستانی (āiristānī)the language
- آئرش (āiriś)the language
- آئرستانی (āiristānī)the people
- آئرش (āiriś)the people
- آئرستانی (āiristānī)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- آئرش (āiriś)pertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- آئرستانی (āiristānī)pertaining to the language
- آئرش (āiriś)pertaining to the language
Vietnamese tiếng Ai-len, người Ai-len
- tiếng Ai-lenthe language
- người Ai-lenthe people
- Ái Nhĩ Lanpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
Welsh Gwyddeleg, Gwyddelod
- Gwyddelegthe language
- Gwyddelodthe people
- Gwyddylthe people
- Gwyddeligpertaining to or originating from Ireland or the Irish people
- Gwyddelegpertaining to the language
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
Irish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish
MLA
“Irish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Irish,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Irish.
Source: Irish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.