ould

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From old.[1]

Pronunciation

Adjective

ould (comparative oulder, superlative ouldest)

  1. (slang, Ireland) old, aged, long-established
    • "The Ould Lammas Fair takes place in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim on the last Monday and Tuesday in August. It's one of the oldest fairs in Ireland"[2]
    • "But, begonnies, in three months I was able to send home for the ouldest little girl--she was only nine years of age."[3]
    • "maybe they'd come round you to play wid you, an' then what's the harum, barrin' they're not any o' the grown brats, as ould or oulder than yourself, that you're behoulden to keep at a distance"[4]

ould (not comparable)

  1. (slang, Ireland) term of denigration
    • "Sonny'll tell you all about it, but pay no heed to him. He's only an ould goat anyway."[5]
  2. (slang, Ireland) term of diminution (often affectionate)
    • for home entertainment they then have to endure the bloody Afternoon Show on RTE, all that bullshit about cookery and clothes and celebrity gossip, when all they want is an ould song from Johnny McEvoy.[6]

Usage notes

Used in spelling pronunciations of popular speech.

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

  1. A Hiberno-English archive: ould
  2. The Ould Lammas Fair from irishcultureandcustoms.com
  3. Maguire, John Francis The Irish in America, CHAPTER XVI....concluded (1868)
  4. Banim, John The Nowlans, Vol. 1, Chap. 3 (1825)
  5. Taylor, Patrick An Irish Country Doctor, p.85 [→ISBN] Macmillan (2008)
  6. Lynch, Declan "Why those poor ould fellas deserved to have their say" Sunday Independent (October 14 2007)

Anagrams

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