Irlande (French)
Where does "Irlande" come from?
The French proper noun 'Irlande' is inherited from Old French 'Irlande'[1]. That Old French form traces back to Middle English 'Irlond', which itself comes from Old English 'Īrland'[2][4]. The Old English term was formed by combining 'Īras', meaning 'the Irish', with 'land', meaning 'land or country'[3].
Open questions
- The first element of the Old English form might alternatively derive from an unattested singular form 'Īr'. [3]
Full etymology tree
- Irlande (French), 'Ireland (an island and country in northwestern Europe)'
- inherited Irlande (Old French), 'Ireland (an island and country in northwestern Europe)'
- derived Irlond (Middle English), 'Ireland (an island and country in northwestern Europe)'
- derived Irland (Old English), 'Ireland (an island and country in northwestern Europe)'
- compound Iras (Old English), 'the Irish'
- compound land (Old English), 'land (dry portion of the Earth's surface)'
- derived Irland (Old English), 'Ireland (an island and country in northwestern Europe)'
- derived Irlond (Middle English), 'Ireland (an island and country in northwestern Europe)'
- inherited Irlande (Old French), 'Ireland (an island and country in northwestern Europe)'
Ancestors
- Irlande (Old French)
Descendants and derived words
- clochette d'Irlande (French)
- Irlande du Nord (French)
- République d'Irlande (French)
- Ιρλανδία (Greek)
- Ilann (Haitian Creole)
- ایرلند (Persian)
Sources
- Irlande (French) - Wiktionary
- Irlande (Old French) - Wiktionary
- Irland (Old English) - Wiktionary
- Irlond (Middle English) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris