Etymograph

English

avourneen

Avourneen comes from Irish a mhuirnín ‘my darling’, from Proto-Celtic *mori ‘sea’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- ‘to care for’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)mer-1‘to care for’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*mori1‘sea’reconstructed
  3. Middle Irishc. 900–1200múirn1
  4. Irishc. 1200–presenta mhuirnín1‘my darling’literally ‘O darling (vocative)’
  5. Englishtodayavourneen1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English avourneen

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)mer-Wiktionary, English avourneen‘to care for’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*moriWiktionary, English avourneen‘sea’reconstructed
  3. Middle Irishc. 900–1200múirnWiktionary, English avourneen
  4. Irishc. 1200–presenta mhuirnínWiktionary, English avourneen‘my darling’literally ‘O darling (vocative)’
  5. EnglishtodayavourneenWiktionary, English avourneen

The story

From Irish a mhuirnín (“my darling”, literally “O darling (vocative)”), from Middle Irish múirn, from Proto-Celtic *mori, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (‘to care for’), see also Latin memoria, Ancient Greek μέριμνα (mérimna, “care”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- ‘to care for’

memory, merit, memorable, memoir, memorandum, martyr, memorabilia, mer, mora, mourn, memoria, 14 more

Today it means

noun darling, sweetheart

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “avourneen”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- / avourneen

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