shoneen en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈʃəʊniːn/
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish Seoinín (“Johnny”), from Seán (“John, John Bull”) + -ín (diminutive suffix).
Meanings
-
(Ireland, derogatory, ethnic, slur) An Irish person considered excessively Anglophile, an Irish person who acts English or desires to be part of English society.
So then the citizens begin talking about the Irish language and the corporation meeting and all to that and the shoneens that can’t speak their own language
1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:Good Father John O'Hart In penal days rode out To a shoneen who had free lands And his own snipe and trout.
1889, W B Yeats, The Ballad of Father O'Hart:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| shoneens | Number=Plur | lexicographic |