banríon
/bˠau(n̪ˠ)ˈɾˠiːnʲ/feminine
The Irish word for queen is banríon.
banríon is a feminine noun used to refer to a female monarch.
Meaning: female monarch (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of banríon is bhanríon, which is used with the plural article na to form na bhanríon (the queens).
How do you pronounce it?
/bˠau(n̪ˠ)ˈɾˠiːnʲ/
Did you know?
- In ancient Irish culture, the concept of a 'queen' was tied to the land, as sovereignty was personified as a goddess who had to be wed by the king to legitimize his rule.
- The element ban in banríon is a linguistic relative of the English word 'banshee', which is a compound of bean meaning 'woman' and síthe meaning 'fairies'.
- The 'rí' inside banríon shares a distant linguistic ancestor with the English word 'regal' and the Latin 'rex'.
Examples in context
- An bhfuil an banríon ag teacht chuig an ócáid?Is the queen coming to the event?
- Bhí an banríon láidir.The queen was strong.
- An bhfuil an banríon anseo?Is the queen here?
Example conversation
Cathal and Siobhán are looking at a history book.
- CathalCé is é seo, a Siobhán?Who is this, Siobhán?
- SiobhánIs banríon í an bean seo.This woman is a queen.
- CathalAn raibh sí go hiontach?Was she wonderful?
- SiobhánBaonríon láidir í go moch.She was a strong queen early on.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “queen” translations and entries banríon, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries banríon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
