IRA

1 a militant organization of Irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive British forces from Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland [syn: Irish Republican Army, Provisional Irish Republican Army, Provisional IRA, Provos]

2 a self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement; taxes on the interest earned in the account are deferred [syn: individual retirement account]

3 belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong (personified as one of the deadly sins) [syn: wrath, anger, ire]

English

Etymology

Hebrew "watchful", a minor biblical character (2Samuel 20:26)

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aɪrə

Proper noun

Ira

1. A given name, mostly of American usage.

IRA as an abbreviation most commonly refers to:

• Irish Republican Army, which has existed in various forms since 1916 (see List of IRAs for details).
  • Since 1969, the Provisional Irish Republican Army has usually been referred to simply as the "IRA".
• Individual Retirement Account, a private retirement account within the United States Internal Revenue Service code.

IRA as an abbreviation may also refer to:

• Indian Rationalist Association, a member of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
• Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 secured certain rights to Native Americans
• Indian Rights Association, an advocacy and lobbyist group for the rights of Native Americans
• Intercollegiate Rowing Association, the national championship for USA men's collegiate rowing
• Internal Revenue Allotment, the local government’s share of revenues from the national government of the Philippines
• International Racquetball Association, an organisation regulating the sport of Racquetball
• International Reading Association, a membership organisation of literacy professionals
• International Reference Alphabet No. 5 as defined by ITU-T T.50.
• Inventory Record Accuracy, a verification protocol for stores
• Inverness Royal Academy, a secondary school in Scotland
• I.R.A. (band), "Ideas de Revolución Adolescente", a Colombian punk band

"Ira" as a name

Ira as a name may refer to:

Given name

• Ira (עִירָא, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ), a Hebrew language personal name
• "Ira", a diminutive form of the name Irina
• Ira Gershwin, lyricist and brother of composer George Gershwin
• Ira Flatow, American journalist
• Ira Glass, American radio personality
• Ira Goldstein, ASB Bank character.
• Ira Hayes, a U.S. Marine, immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima
• Ira Levin, a U.S. novelist
• Ira Kaplan, a U.S. musician, singer and guitarist for Yo La Tengo
• Ira, nickname of Indira Vladić, Croatian singer
• Ira, nickname of Irawati Ridwan, Saiful Rahman's Wife Banyuwangi East Java Indonesia
• Dr. Ira Graves, PhD, a fictional character from the Star Trek universe who appeared in the episode The Schizoid Man of the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series.

Mythological

• Ira (mythology), a goddess in Polynesian mythology
• "Ira", another name for goddess of Knowledge, Saraswati in Hindu mythology

Place name

• Ira, also Eira, is a municipality in northern Messenia, Greece
• Ira, Iowa
• Ira, New York
• Ira, Texas
• Ira, Vermont
• Ira Township, Michigan

Other

• Ayra, a fictional character from Nintendo's Fire Emblem series, more specifically the Super Famicom game called Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu. Known in Japan as "Ira".
• Ira!, a popular Brazilian Rock'n'Roll band.
• IRA, a Polish rock band, popular in the early 90s
• Ira Latin word for Wrath, one of the seven deadly sins.