Inishowen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A peninsula in the northeast of County Donegal in Ireland, lying between Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly
2. A northern Irish peninsula in County Donegal, bounded by Lough Foyle to the east and Lough Swilly to the west
3. The large peninsula in the far northeast of County Donegal, Ireland, known for its rugged coastline and farmland

Etymology: Inishowen is the largest peninsula in Ireland, jutting northward into the Atlantic at the top of County Donegal, and its name points to an island that is no longer one. The first element is "inis," the Irish word for island, and the second is usually traced to Eoghan (Owen), a name tied to the Uí Néill dynasty of the north-west. Together the name means something like "Owen's island," which makes sense only if the land was once cut off from the mainland by water. The explanation for that is a matter of the land's history rather than the word's. Parts of the district were once bounded by lakes and channels, and the name records how the area was seen by people who named it. Because the name is a compound of two Irish words, its meaning can be read directly from its parts, though the exact identity of the Owen it honours is debated among historians.