Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • An island in the northern Atlantic Ocean west of Great Britain, divided between the independent Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom. The island was invaded by Celts c. 500 BC and converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick in the fifth century AD. Ireland came under English control in the 17th century and was joined with Great Britain by the Act of Union in 1801. After the Easter Rebellion (1916) and a war of independence (1919–1921), the island was split into the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland, which is still part of the United Kingdom.
  • A country occupying most of the island of Ireland. Organized as the semiautonomous Irish Free State by treaty with Great Britain in 1922, it officially became the sovereign state of Eire in 1937. Full independence came in 1949 when the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed, and the country withdrew from the Commonwealth. Dublin is the capital and the largest city.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A large island in northwest Europe.
  • proper noun A republic occupying the majority-area of the island of Ireland, with Northern Ireland occupying the rest of the island. Also known as the Republic of Ireland since 1949.
  • proper noun A family surname.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an island comprising the republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
  • noun a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of Ireland; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1921

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Irish Éire + land.

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