cairn
/kɛ(ə)ɹn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.87 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument.
noun
A pile of stones heaped up as a landmark, to guide travelers on land or at sea, or to arrest attention, as in surveying, or in leaving traces of an exploring party, etc.
noun
Example Sentences
- ""Now here let us place the gray stone of her cairn: / Why speak ye no word!"—said Glenara the stern."
- "After fifteen minutes of this we were glad to reach a high saddle on which former travellers had piled little cairns of commemoration and thankfulness."
Etymology
From Scots cairn, from Scottish Gaelic càrn, from Old Irish carn, from Proto-Celtic *karnos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”). Compare Welsh carn, Cornish carn. Doublet of carn and horn.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kɛ(ə)ɹn/
- British English: /kɛən/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Synonyms
See burial mound § Synonyms
cairn terrier
Homonyms
(non-rhotic, æ-raising) can