spéirling
feminine
The English word 'hurricane' is translated into Irish as either hairicín or spéirling.
Meaning: weather phenomenon (noun)
Ways to say it
| Irish | Note |
|---|---|
| spéirling | feminine |
| hairicín | masculine |
Both words are used to describe the weather phenomenon of a hurricane.
Which one should you use?
hairicín is a masculine noun, while spéirling is a feminine noun.
Did you know?
- In Irish, the suffix -ín usually means 'small', which creates a linguistic irony where the word hairicín for a massive storm literally contains a marker for smallness.
- The Old Irish root of spéirling implies a sense of 'contention', suggesting that a storm is not just wind, but a literal battle in the sky.
- The word hairicín was created through folk etymology, where the English word 'hurricane' was adapted to sound like it contained the Irish diminutive suffix -ín.
Example sentences for Irish are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Conor and Niamh are discussing the weather forecast.
- ConorAn chonaic tú an nuacht faoi spéirling?Did you see the news about a hurricane?
- NiamhTá, tá mé buíon leis.Yes, I am worried about it.
- ConorAn mbeidh an spéirling anseo go spoidéir?Will the hurricane be here soon?
- NiamhBa mhaith liom a cheapadh nach mbeidh.I would like to think it won't.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hurricane” translations and entries spéirling, hairicín, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hairicín, spéirling, CC BY-SA 4.0.
