"Scotch-Irish" means: The descendants of Scottish settlers in the Irish province of Ulster.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
Scotch-Irish
(US, CA) The descendants of Scottish settlers in the Irish province of Ulster.
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(US, CA) The descendants of Scottish settlers in the Irish province of Ulster.
"Scotch-Irish" means: The descendants of Scottish settlers in the Irish province of Ulster.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"Scotch-Irish" means: The descendants of Scottish settlers in the Irish province of Ulster.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. Note the regional or dialect label (US) — usage may sound odd outside that variety. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Semantically related
- 66%
(Ireland) A dialect of the Irish language indigenous to Ulster.
- 58%
The set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
- 56%
(UK, slang, archaic) A person born of Irish parents in any part of the southern counties of England.
- 56%
(Ireland, historical) A custom that gave tenants of Ulster in Ireland a reasonable expectation of security of tenure as long as they paid their rent, and allowed them to sell the right to occupy their holding to another tenant acceptable to the landlord.
- 54%
(slang, Irish, sometimes derogatory) A Protestant, especially one that is a member of the Protestant unionist community of Northern Ireland.