caber

American  

[key-ber] / ˈkeɪ bər /

noun

Scot.

• cabers
  plural

1. a pole or beam, especially one thrown as a trial of strength.

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caber British  

/ ˈkeɪbə, ˈkebər /

noun

1. a heavy section of trimmed tree trunk thrown in competition at Highland games ( tossing the caber )

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cabers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of caber

First recorded in 1505–15, caber is from the Scots Gaelic word cabar pole

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caber cabers

Crowds from across the globe have attended the Braemar Gathering, the popular Highland Games event, to watch competitors take part in a series of events including the caber toss, hammer throw and tug-o-war.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2022

One week, it’s a San Diego quarterback throwing a ball backward over his head, a play that Bryce Miller of the San Diego Union-Tribune described as resembling “a drunken, Scottish caber toss minus the kilt.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2019

He’s alive and swinging, despite the best intentions of Brienne and Arya, and breathing heavily, like every interesting character on “Game of Thrones” who carries a caber or defies death.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 6, 2016

Although he plays up his roots by donning a kilt or tossing the caber - a Highland sport involving throwing a giant wooden pole - he has impeccable credentials as a German conservative.

From Reuters ● Jan. 15, 2013

This game requires great skill and strength, and it is seldom indeed that more than one man succeeds in tossing the caber fair and square.

From The Cruise of the Land-Yacht "Wanderer" Thirteen Hundred Miles in my Caravan by Gordon Stables

It is often brought upon the field heavier than can be thrown and then cut to suit the contestants, although sometimes cabers of different sizes are kept, each contestant taking his choice.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various