We have all heard of names like Kilroy, Kilpatrick, Killilea, Kilkenny, Killarney. I know what "O" and "Mac" mean, but no one has ever told me what "Kil" means. The Gaelic, anyone?
2007-09-17 15:23:37 · 2 answers · asked by Brigid O' Somebody 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
In Irish place names, the prefix "Kil-" usually means "church." It is a loanword from Medieval Latin cella meaning a "monastic cell" e.g. Kilpatrick "The Church of St. Patrick," Kilkenny "Church of St. Cainneach; Killarney "Church of the sloes* etc.
There are some occasional exceptions where it is an anglicized form of the Gaelic word coill (pronounced kohl or kwil) meaning "wood" or "forest" as in Kilbeheny "Birch-wood."
*Sloe - a shrub with plumlike fruits that grows in Europe and Asia.
2007-09-17 19:12:04 · answer #1 · answered by Brennus 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What Does Kilpatrick Mean
2017-01-15 04:07:01 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋