shillelagh
shil·le·lagh
shillelagh · shillelaghs
A wooden wood) club ending with a large knobA wooden (traditionally blackthorn (sloe) wood) club ending with a large knob.
/ʃəˈleɪli/
Meaning
2 senses(Ireland)A wooden (traditionally blackthorn (sloe) wood) club ending with a large knob.
Any cudgel, whether or not of Irish origin.
More definitions
- a cudgel made of hardwood (usually oak or blackthorn)
Origin
From Irish sail éille (“shillelagh”, literally “cudgel of a thong”), altered to match theFrom Irish sail éille (“shillelagh”, literally “cudgel of a thong”), altered to match the name of the village of Shillelagh (from Irish Síol Éalaigh (literally “descendants of Éalach”), because the forest near it provided wood from which such clubs could be made.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: shillelaghsSynonyms
1 synonymsClose in meaning
- a cudgel made of hardwood (usually oak or blackthorn):shillalah
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedblackthorn