Adjacent Words

Cairn definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAIRN, n. A heap of stones.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a mound of stones piled up as a memorial or to mark a boundary or path
2: small rough-haired breed of terrier from Scotland [syn: cairn, cairn terrier]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English (Scots) carne, from Scottish Gaelic carn; akin to Old Irish & Welsh carn cairn Date: 15th century a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark • cairned adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a mound of rough stones as a monument or landmark. 2 (in full cairn terrier) a a small terrier of a breed with short legs, a longish body, and a shaggy coat (perhaps so called from its being used to hunt among cairns). b this breed. Etymology: Gael. carn

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cairn Cairn, n. [Gael. carn, gen. cairn, a heap: cf. Ir. & W. carn.] 1. A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument. Now here let us place the gray stone of her cairn. --Campbell. 2. A pile of stones heaped up as a landmark, or to arrest attention, as in surveying, or in leaving traces of an exploring party, etc. --C. Kingsley. Kane.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(cairns) A cairn is a pile of stones which marks a boundary, a route across rough ground, or the top of a mountain. A cairn is sometimes also built in memory of someone. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

arch, barrow, bench mark, bookmark, boundary stone, brass, bust, catstone, cenotaph, column, cromlech, cross, cup, cyclolith, dolmen, footstone, grave, gravestone, headstone, hoarstone, inscription, landmark, lighthouse, lightship, mark, marker, mausoleum, megalith, memento, memorial, memorial arch, memorial column, memorial statue, memorial stone, menhir, milepost, milestone, monolith, monument, mound, necrology, obelisk, obituary, pharos, pillar, plaque, platform, prize, pyramid, reliquary, remembrance, ribbon, rostral column, seamark, shaft, shrine, stela, stone, stupa, tablet, testimonial, tomb, tombstone, tope, tower, trophy, watchtower