móinéar
The Irish word móinéar means lea (open field, meadow or pasture).
móinéar refers to an open field, meadow or pasture. In certain informal contexts, the phrase A Lea may be used as a greeting similar to "Hey Lea" or "Hi Lea".
Meaning: open field, meadow, pasture (noun)
Did you know?
- While 'meadow' sounds poetic in English, the Irish móinéar carries a heavy linguistic link to the working landscapes of peat-cutting.
- The word móinéar is built from two common words: móin, meaning 'turf' or 'peat', and féar, meaning 'grass'.
- The word móin is a frequent root in Irish place names, often denoting areas where peat was historically harvested.
Example conversation
Cian and Aoife are walking through the countryside.
- CianCruinnigh an móinéar anseo, a Aoife.The meadow gathers here, Aoife.
- AoifeTá sé go hálainn ansin.It is beautiful there.
- CianAn bhfuil an móinéar mór?Is the pasture large?
- AoifeTá, tá sé an-mhór.Yes, it is very large.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry móinéar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries móinéar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
