cairn
Americannoun
noun
-
a mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker
-
Also called: cairn terrier. a small rough-haired breed of terrier originally from Scotland
Usage
What does cairn mean? A cairn is a pile of stones set up as a marker, monument, or memorial of some kind. Cairns are sometimes used to mark points along hiking trails. This usually takes the form of a small pile of rocks or several stones stacked on top of each other. The word cairn is also used in the context of archaeology, in which it usually refers to a large pile of stones that marks some kind of significant site, often a burial site. Such cairns were sometimes used in areas with rocky soil not suitable for traditional burial. Example: The cairn at the summit of the trail has continued to grow as hikers have added rocks to it.
Other Word Forms
- cairned adjective
- cairny adjective
Etymology
Origin of cairn
First recorded in 1525–35; earlier carn, from Scots Gaelic: “pile of stones”; perhaps akin to horn
Explanation
A cairn is a pile of stones made by a person. Some cairns are used to mark different paths on a hiking trail. Cairn is derived from the Scottish carne, "heap of stones." Around the world, ancient cairns mark the spots where people were buried and stand as memorials on battle sites. Countries including Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland have particularly strong traditions of using stacked stones as beacons for travelers. When tourists create their own rock piles on hiking trails and beaches, they disrupt historic cairns, disturb animal habitats, and put others in danger of getting lost.
Vocabulary lists containing cairn
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.
One person would stay at the first cairn while another would try to locate the next cairn.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2024
“This dramatically oversized cairn is a mark of human impact and is distracting in a wilderness setting,” the post read.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2023
Scientists identified three cases of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria causing the plague, in human remains - two in a mass burial in Somerset, and one in a ring cairn monument in Cumbria.
From BBC • May 31, 2023
I’ve been there myself, digging as deep as I could into the long and honorable history of my cairn terriers and Pomeranians.
From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2021
He’d given me straightforward directions that he simply hadn’t had time to explain: “The Old Man,” I realized, was what the locals called the bog boy, and his grave was the cairn.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
