Munya
Great, lovely, very attractive. Belfast informal slang of approval, applied to anything good - a meal, a piece of music, a person, a result. Stronger than 'nice', shorter than 'cracking'.
Etymology
Origin unknown.the word appears to have emerged in Belfast informal speech in the twentieth century. Possibly an alteration of an earlier word, possibly an entirely local coinage. Pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.
In a sentence
"Have you tried the new pizza place on the avenue? - munya, absolutely munya."
Historical notes
Munya is one of the most distinctively Belfast Ulster slang words and one of the most opaque etymologically. It works as a stand-alone exclamation ('Munya!') or as an adjective ('that's munya'). The word has stayed inside Belfast and east Ulster more than 'wheeker' (which is broader Ulster); using 'munya' marks the speaker as specifically Belfast. Younger Belfast speech still uses the word; in the Republic it is generally unknown.
Sources
- Macafee, Caroline. A Concise Ulster Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1996. · dictionary