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clachan

American  
[klah-khuhn, kla-] / ˈklɑ xən, ˈklæ- /

noun

Scot., Irish.
  1. a small village or hamlet.


clachan British  
/ ˈklaxən, ˈklæ- /

noun

  1. dialect a small village; hamlet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of clachan

1375–1425; late Middle English ( Scots ) < Scots Gaelic, equivalent to clach stone + -an diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As well as a clan banquet, the event included a visit to Hanna's Close, a clachan of traditional houses, which has been in place in Aughnahoory just outside Kilkeel since the 1640s.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2023

This page has since been fixed with proper Scots and now states that a veelage is “muckler nor a clachan but no as muckle nor a toun.”

From Slate • Sep. 9, 2020

Most picturesque exhibit is a full-scale Highland clachan squat in the middle of the fair's modernistic, pastel-shaded buildings.

From Time Magazine Archive

In saying these words Robin turned hastily into the wynd that led to the clachan, laughing in his sleeve, leaving the brave cavalier in a sore state o' dread and wonderment.

From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by Galt, John

I shall just slip out to the clachan for you; and you shall both tell me on my return whether I am not a prime judge of ale.”

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 2 Historical, Traditional, and Imaginative by Wilson, John Mackay