míol mór
/ˌmʲiːlˠ ˈmˠoːɾˠ/masculine
The English phrase 'whale' is translated into Irish as míol mór.
míol mór refers to a large sea mammal.
Meaning: large sea mammal (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌmʲiːlˠ ˈmˠoːɾˠ/
Did you know?
- The word míol shares a Proto-Indo-European root with the Ancient Greek word μῆλον, meaning 'sheep'.
- The structure of míol mór follows a common pattern in Irish where the adjective 'big' is used to specify the type of animal, rather than just its size.
Examples in context
- Bhí mé ag féachaint ar an míol mór sin ag léim amach as an uisce.I was watching that whale jumping out of the water.
Example conversation
Oisín and Aoife are looking at the ocean from a cliff.
- OisínAoife, féach ar an míol mór!Aoife, look at the whale!
- AoifeÓ mhuinín, cá bhfuil sé?Oh my, where is it?
- OisínTá an míol mór ansin anois.The whale is over there now.
- AoifeIs mór an mhiol mór é!It is a huge whale!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “whale” translations and entries míol mór, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries míol, míol mór, mór, CC BY-SA 4.0.
