Irishism
/ˈaɪrɪʃɪzəm/noun
A word, expression, or idiom characteristic of Irish English or Irish speech.
Did you know?Irishism is built from the ethnic adjective Irish plus the productive ending -ism, showing how English can turn a people’s speech patterns into a named category.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
Īras
“The Irish people”
Old English
OE
-isc
“A suffix forming adjectives meaning 'pertaining to' or 'belonging to'”
Middle English
ME
Irish
“Relating to Ireland or the Irish people”
18th Century
English
Irishism
“A word or expression characteristic of Irish speech”
Modern English
English
Irishism
“An expression or idiom characteristic of Irish English”