caird

American  

[kaird, keyrd] / kɛərd, keɪrd /

noun

Scot.

1. a traveling tinker, especially a Romani.

2. a wandering tramp or vagrant.

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caird British  

/ kerd, kɛəd /

noun

1. obsolete a travelling tinker; vagrant

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Etymology

Origin of caird

First recorded in 1655–65; from Scots Gaelic ceard “tinker”; akin to Latin cerdō “workman,” Greek kerdṓ “cunning one”

Example Sentences

But tho' his little heart did grieve When round the tinkler prest her, He feign'd to snirtle in his sleeve, When thus the caird address'd her: Air Tune—"Clout the Cauldron."

From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Burns, Robert

I'll make sae bauld, miss, au to chairge ye wi' that bit caird.

From Man and Wife by Collins, Wilkie

Over her shoulder she said in a voice that wavered slightly: 'That was hard cheese, Wullie, but ye maun send her a cheerier-like caird next time.

From Wee Macgreegor Enlists by Bell, J. J. (John Joy)

Two occupative names of Celtic origin are Gow, a smith, as in The Fair Maid of Perth, and Caird, a tinker— "The fellow had been originally a tinker or caird."

From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest

I pit th' —— wheel up, keepin' ma 'ee on th' compass caird; but that wis a fau't tae....

From The Brassbounder A Tale of the Sea by Bone, David W.