noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/məˈvʊəniːn/
Received-Pronunciation:/məˈvɔːniːn/
General-American:/məˈvʊɹniːn/
General-American:/məˈvɝniːn/
Ireland:/məˈvuːɹniːn/
1
noun
Meaning 1
darling, sweetheart
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland
Examples
1850 (approx.), Anonymous, Finnegan's Wake Biddy O'Brien began to cry "Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see? "Arrah, Tim, mavourneen, why did you die?" "Ah, shut your gob," said Paddy McGee!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Hiberno-English, from Irish mo mhuirnín (“my darling”) (diminutive of muirn (“affection”)).
