caird
Americannoun
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a traveling tinker, especially a Romani.
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a wandering tramp or vagrant.
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An' I'll send the auld cat a caird wi' something nice on it, to please ye .
From Wee Macgreegor Enlists by Bell, J. J. (John Joy)
When I got atower i' the mornin', what is there sittin' on my chair but a great muckle shortie in a braw box, wi' a Christmas caird on the tap o't.
From My Man Sandy by Salmond, J. B.
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
O Willy, I can caird an' spin, Sae ne'er can want for cleedin'; An' gin I hae my Willy's heart, I hae a' the pearls I'm heedin'.
From The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 by Stevenson, Burton Egbert
"Step in, sir, caird or gentleman," said my father—looking more bent at the shoulder than twelve years before.
From John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn by Munro, Neil
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.
