omadhaun
English
Alternative forms
- amadan
Etymology
From Irish amadán, introduced into English via literature and political speech.
Noun
omadhaun (plural omadhauns)
- (Ireland) A fool, someone who is out of their senses, simpleton.
- 1906, Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson, A Story of Outback Life
- […] an Omadhaun is a man who began life with some sense, but lost most of it on his journey.
- 1914, James Joyce, "Grace" in Dubliners
- "It is supposed — they say, you know — to take place in the depot where they get these thundering big country fellows, omadhauns, you know, to drill."
- 1983, Hugh Kenner, A Colder Eye
- Tin trumpets some of the omadhauns had brought along to bray with […]
- 1996, Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes
- "No, you omadhaun. It bites your shoulder, rips it right off."
- 1906, Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson, A Story of Outback Life