cimarron

¹

[ sim-uh-ron, -rohn, -er-uhn; sim-uh-rohn ]

noun

1. bighorn.

Cimarron

²

[ sim-uh-ron, -rohn, -er-uhn; sim-uh-rohn ]

noun

1. a river flowing E from NE New Mexico to the Arkansas River in Oklahoma. 600 miles (965 km) long.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cimarron¹

First recorded in 1840–50; from Colonial Spanish (carnero) cimarrón “wild (ram),” Spanish: “wild,” probably equivalent to Old Spanish cimarra “brushwood, thicket,” from cim(a) “peak, summit” (from Latin cȳma “spring shoots of a vegetable,” from Greek; cyme ) + -arrón adjective suffix; maroon ²

Example Sentences

Slaves who ran away and lived beyond the control of the planters were called “maroons”—from the Spanish word cimarron for cattle that escaped and lived in the wild.

From Literature

The cimarron bear is avoided by the soldiers, if possible, when met by them.

From Project Gutenberg

The Spanish word "cimarron" signifies indiscriminately a runaway head of cattle or horses, that had become wild, or a runaway slave.

From Project Gutenberg

The animals which are found west of the Missouri River, especially in the Rocky Mountains, and far beyond them, are the buffalo, elk, deer, cimarron bear, mountain sheep, antelope, coyote, prairie-dog, etc.

From Project Gutenberg