Scotch-Irish

[ skoch-ahy-rish ]

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) the descendants of the Lowland Scots who were settled in Ulster in the 17th century.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Scotch-Irish.
2. of mixed Scottish and Irish descent.

Confusables Note

See Scotch.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Scotch-Irish¹

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

However, it was lower for respondents with ancestry in several Caribbean nations as well as those with Azerbaijani, British, Celtic, French Canadian, Guyanese, Pennsylvania German, Romani and Scotch-Irish backgrounds.

From Seattle Times

Little information was available about her life, but Mr. Smith said she was White, with Scotch-Irish and Cherokee ancestry.

From Washington Post

Mr. McCullough was himself a natural on television, a self-possessed, blue-eyed, hale fellow of Scotch-Irish descent with a voice and delivery — authoritative if a bit nasal — that kept him in demand for off-camera work as well.

From New York Times

Drawing on Scotch-Irish folk tradition — selkies, merpeople — the musical tells the story of an island split in two.

From New York Times

So too each will highlight a geographical place that shaped him: The Whitney will focus on South Carolina, where Johns grew up, the son of generations of Scotch-Irish farmers stretching back to the American Revolution.

From New York Times