boreen
- noun
- Irish
:
boreen
- As she strolled along the boreen, the soft sound of crunching gravel filled the air.
- road to the boreen
Examples
-
The high ditches at each side of the boreen were draped with faded brown ferns and tiered moist moss.
Fiction book (1997) -
Ginger took the two cake tins off the pantry counter, dropped the letter in the mailbox outside the pub, and then went up the border road to the boreen where the blackberries grew in thick clusters, black as jet.
Fiction book (1998) -
"What road or boreen would they need?
Fiction book (1997) -
As they walked up the boreen, her brother drew his pipe out of his pocket.
Fiction book (1997) -
He walked up and down the sand boreen.
Fiction book (1997) -
Boreen, Jean, Mary K. Johnson, Donna Niday, and Joe Potts.
Academic text (2004) -
But there was no bouncing up and down, and she watched over Jack's shoulder as the low black hearse went slowly up the boreen.
Fiction book (1997) -
Nora leaned over the stone wall that divided their boreen from the cottage yard, and a small brown terrier put his front paws on his side of the wall and shook his tail in welcome.
Fiction book (1997) -
They drove slowly down the boreen, admiring the lush greenery on either side.
-
The boreen was lined with wildflowers, creating a picturesque landscape in the countryside.
Synonyms
405
1.0
A narrow road or a marked part of a road for cars and bikes
18
3.1
A small quiet road used to avoid traffic and reach local homes
9
7.4
A small quiet road in the countryside that people do not use often
A small narrow lane in a village or countryside
A small quiet side road in the countryside
A rough road in the countryside for carts
Surface Forms
Etymology
Boreen comes from the Irish word bóthar ('road') with the small ending -ín, so it originally meant a 'little road'. Bó also means 'cow', so you can picture a narrow path that cows and people used, which is why a boreen today is a small country lane in Ireland.