Irene
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The hydrocarbon formed by dehydration of an irone.
"The configurations around the double bond in the side chain are based on considerations of the Raman spectra, dielectric constants, etc., and on comparatively small differences in reactivity; for example, neo-α-irone is converted into irene less readily than α-irone, but forms an oxime more rapidly; …"
- 1 Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, one of the Horae/Horæ; equivalent to the Roman goddess Pax. Greek
- 2 14 Irene, a main belt asteroid.
- 3 A female given name from Ancient Greek, in regular use since the 19th century.
"But lest I be thought too literall, give me leave to allegorize upon this Irene. Her name is a Greek name, Εἰρήνη, it signifies peace; we must not dote upon our Irene, our private peace, that the publique should suffer for the sake of it."
- 4 A city and town in South Dakota, United States.
Example
More examples"Irene Pepperberg, a researcher at Northwestern University, is discovering that a parrot can not only mimic people but also learn the meaning of words."
Etymology
Borrowed from French Irène, from Ancient Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirḗnē, “peace”), name of a goddess of peace, of early Christian saints, and of an 8th-century Byzantine empress. Doublet of Eirini.
Related phrases
More for "irene"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.