omadhaun

English

Alternative forms

• amadan

Etymology

From Irish amadán, introduced into English via literature and political speech.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɒmədɔːn/

Noun

omadhaun (plural omadhauns)

1. (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 June, James Joyce, “Grace”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:

     "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."