Connaught

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A province in the northwest of Ireland, historically one of the four main provinces of the island
2. The westernmost province of Ireland, located on the Atlantic coast and comprising five counties
3. A region in northwestern Ireland that forms one of the traditional divisions of the country

Etymology: "Connaught" is a dated spelling of "Connacht," the name of one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the west of the island. The modern name comes from Irish, where it is the genitive form of "Connachta," the name of a people. In Old Irish the forms were Connacht for the land and Connachta for the people, so the place name is literally "of the Connachta," meaning the territory belonging to that people. The spelling "Connaught" is the older English rendering, reflecting how the name was anglicised in English-language writing. Its survival in print is a matter of convention: "Connacht" is the form in modern Irish usage, while "Connaught" persists as the traditional English spelling, which is why it still appears in older maps, histories and some place names.