Aisling
/ˈaʃ.lʲɪŋʲ/noun
An Irish poetic vision or dream, especially one in which Ireland appears as a woman.
Did you know?The aisling became a political-poetic genre in Irish tradition, where the poet’s vision often revealed Ireland as a supernatural woman lamenting her condition and promising renewal.
Etymological Timeline
Old Irish
Goidelic
áslinge
“a vision or apparition seen in a dream”
Middle Irish
Irish
aisling
“a dream, vision, or apparition”
Early Modern Irish
Irish
aisling
“a poetic vision, especially a personified vision of Ireland”
Modern English
English
aisling
“an Irish literary term for a vision poem or dream-vision”