mé féiner

/meɪ feɪnɚ/

noun

Someone who acts from self-interest, rather than the common good or the national interest.

OriginIrish mé féin →
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Meanings

nounmé féiner (plural mé féiners)

plural mé féiners

  1. IrelandderogatorySomeone who acts from self-interest, rather than the common good or the national interest.

    As far as he was concerned, de Valera just fixed things for himself. He was a mé féiner.

    2015 June 29, Eoghan Plunkett, quoted in Ronan McGreevy "On 1916, and why Michael Collins 'was a pup'" The Irish Times

Origin

  1. Irishmé féin“myself”
  2. Englishmé féiner

From Irish mé féin (“myself”) + -er.

More words from Irish

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mé féiner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/m%C3%A9%20f%C3%A9iner

MLA

“mé féiner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/m%C3%A9%20f%C3%A9iner. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mé féiner,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/m%C3%A9%20f%C3%A9iner.

Source: mé féiner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.