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)
It's queer to think," said Cosmo, "'at though we hae a' this siller, I maun tramp it the morn like ony caird.
From Warlock o' Glenwarlock by MacDonald, George
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.
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
Only think of the beautiful Lady Cassilis who eloped with a belted knight, being reduced to the level of a hedge-tramper, and interchanging caresses with a caird!
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847 by Various
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.
