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Colleen

2 stages from Irish to English.

Today it means an Irish girl or young woman

Where does the word "colleen" come from? It comes from Irish cailín, adopted directly into English (1820s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
cailín
Irish · medieval
"girl"
diminutive of caile 'girl, countrywoman'; cailín is still the everyday Irish word for 'girl'
2
Stage 2 of 2
colleen
English · 1820s
"Irish girl"
Dion Boucicault's hit 1860 play The Colleen Bawn ('the fair-haired girl'), based on Gerald Griffin's 1829 novel The Collegians, spread it
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Colleen’s story begins in Irish: cailín meant “girl.” Diminutive of caile 'girl, countrywoman'; cailín is still the everyday Irish word for 'girl'. It reached English by 1820s as colleen. Dion Boucicault's hit 1860 play The Colleen Bawn ('the fair-haired girl'), based on Gerald Griffin's 1829 novel The Collegians, spread it. Today, colleen means an Irish girl or young woman.