List of English words of Irish origin

This is a list of English language words from the Celtic Irish language. For English words which originated in Ireland from other sources see Hiberno-English. Expand list|date=August 2008

Dictionary abbreviations:
* "AHD": The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, hosted at [http://www.bartleby.com/61/ Bartleby.com]
* "M-W": Meriam-Webster, hosted at [http://www.webster.com/ webster.com]
* "OED": "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English" (7th ed. 1982)
* "RH": Random House Unabridged Dictionary, hosted at [http://dictionary.reference.com/ Dictionary.com]

English words from the Irish language

;alannah: from Irish "a leanbh", "Oh, Child" (OED).;banshee: from Irish "bean sídhe", "woman of fairyland" ( [http://www.webster.com/dictionary/banshee M-W] ), "...of the fairies" ( [http://www.bartleby.com/61/46/B0064600.html AHD] ) or "...of a fairy mound" ( [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=banshee&x=0&y=0 RH] ). The Modern Irish word for woman is "bean" /bæn/ and "síd(h)" (or "sí" in modern spelling) is an Irish term referring to a 'fairy mound'. (See Sidhe.);bard:a poet. From Irish and Scottish Gaelic "bárd" and Welsh "bardd". Originally from Old Celtic *"bardos" (OED). ;bog: (from "bogach", 'a bog', or "bog", 'soft') a piece of wet spongy ground (OED).;boreen: (from "bóithrín") a small country road;brogues: (from "bróig", a shoe) A type of shoe (OED).;brogue: A strong regional accent, especially an Irish one. Presumably used originally with reference to the footwear of speakers of the brogue (OED).;callow: A low-lying meadow by an Irish river, liable to be flooded; a water-meadow. Also in adjectival use. This is the same as the English "callow" (originally, 'bald', or 'unfeathered', and now often 'inexperienced'), itself cognate with the Irish "calbh" (bald), and is a particularly Irish usage (OED).;colleen: (from "cailín", countrywoman) girl (usually referring to an Irish girl) (OED).;craic (crack): fun, used in Ireland for fun/enjoyment, often when mixed with alcohol and/or music. The word came to Ireland from Ulster or Scots dialects of English. The modern Gaelicized spelling "craic", although preferred by most of the Irish people, is sometimes controversial, decried as "faux"-Irish. [] ;drum: (from "droim", 'back') A ridge often separating two long narrow valleys; a long narrow ridge of drift or diluvial formation (OED).;drumlin: (from "droim", 'back' with a diminutive) A small rounded hill of glacial formation, often seen in series (OED).;esker: (from "eiscir") an elongated mound of post-glacial gravel, usually along a river valley (OED).;Fenian:A member of a 19th century Irish nationalist group. From Old Irish "fené", the name of an ancient Irish people, but confused with "fíann", a legendary band of warriors (OED). ;fiacre: a small four-wheeled carriage for hire, a hackney-coach. This derives from the Old Irish given name "Fiacre" (of uncertain meaning, perhaps 'battle king', perhaps 'little raven'). Saint Fiacre was a seventh century Irish saint for whom an inn in Paris that hired carriages was named. (OED);galore: plenty, a lot. From "go leor", Irish for "to sufficiency". (OED);gob: (literally "beak") mouth. Perhaps from Irish. (OED);keen: (from "caoinim", 'to wail') to lament, to wail mournfully (OED).;kibosh: 'To put the kibosh on' is to do for something, finish it off, or simply to end it or terminate it. The OED says the origin is obscure and possibly Hebrew Yiddish, but it may be from the Irish "an cháip bháis", 'the cap of death' [cite journal| last=Blenkinsop | first=Stanley | title = Who or what is the kybosh?; Questions Answered | journal=The Times| date=August 30, 2004] or "cabáiste", "cabbage" [cite journal| last=O'Hescain | first=Donal Og | title = Who or what is the kybosh?; Questions Answered | journal=The Times| date=September 1, 2004] .;leprechaun: elf, sprite (from "leipreachán", from "lu" 'small' and "corp" 'body') (OED).;loch: (from "loch") A lake, or arm of the sea; this has entered English by various routes; one derivation is most obvious (but then the spelling is usually 'lough'), and in Anglo-Irish and in various northern English dialects the origin is Gaelic.;poteen: (from poitín, 'small pot') hooch, bootleg alcoholic drink (OED) ;phoney: (from fáinne, 'ring') from fake rings sold to immigrants just off the boat from Ireland ;Puck, pook, pooka: possibly related to "púca (a pooka, a hobgoblin, a bogey, a sprite)", poker, an evil demon, a mischievous sprite or spirit; a hobgoblin;scam: from " 's cam é" ('it is a scam/a trick'), a trick - it is a trick.;shamrock: from "seamróg" ('trefoil'), a clover, used as a symbol for Ireland (OED).;Shan Van Vocht: from "SeanBhean Bhocht" (a poor old woman), "Poor Old Woman", a literary name for Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries ;shebeen: unlicensed house selling alcohol, from Irish "síbín", a mugful (OED).;shillelagh: a wooden club or cudgel made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob on the end;Sidhe: (pronounced 'she') the fairy folk of Ireland, from "(aos) sídhe" (OED). See banshee.; sleeveen: (also slieveen, sleiveen) an untrustworthy or cunning person, from the Irish "slíbhín". Used in Ireland and Newfoundland. (OED); slew: from "sluagh", a large number; a great amount (OED). NB: as in "a slew of new products", not as in "slay".;slob: from "slab" mud (OED);smithereens: small fragments, atoms. In phrases such as 'to explode into smithereens'. This is the word "smithers" (of obscure origin) with the Irish diminutive ending. Whether it derives from the modern Irish "smidrín" or is the source of this word is unclear (OED).;tilly: (from "tuilleadh", 'an additional quantity, supplement') used in Ireland and places of Irish settlement such as Newfoundland to refer to an additional article or amount unpaid for by the purchaser, as a gift from the vendor (OED).;Tory: originally an Irish outlaw, probably from the Irish verb "tóir", meaning "pursue" (OED).;whiskey: from "uisce beatha", 'water of life' (OED).

ee also

* Hiberno-English
* List of English words of Old Irish origin
* List of English words of Scottish Gaelic origin
* List of English words of Celtic origin
* Lists of English words of international origin