callant

[ kah-luh nt ]

/ ˈkɑ lənt /

noun Chiefly Scot.

a lad; boy.

Nearby words

callable, callaghan, callais, callaloo, callanetics, callant, callao, callas, callathump, callback, callboy

Also cal·lan

[kah-luh n] /ˈkɑ lən/.

Origin of callant

1710–20; < Dutch kalant fellow, chap, customer < Old North French caland customer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for callant

She told me she saw Robertson go into the ruins, so I made what haste I could to cleek the callant.
The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Vol. 1., Illustrated|Sir Walter Scott
She was little like it that night she gaed away greetin wi the callant on her back!
The Brownie of Bodsbeck, and Other Tales, Vol. II (of 2)|James Hogg
She has a braw house here, and lives bien and warm, wi' twa servant lasses, and a man and a callant in the shop.
Sir Walter Scott|Richard H. Hutton
What do ye want, callant, that ye deafen my auld lugs like that?
The Surprising Adventures of Sir Toady Lion With Those of General Napoleon Smith|S. R. Crockett

I'm much mista'en if I didna see a weel-faur'd callant cast lovin' een upon ye in the marketplace just now.
The Manchester Rebels of the Fatal '45|William Harrison Ainsworth

British Dictionary definitions for callant

callant

callan (ˈkælən)

/ (ˈkælənt) /

noun

Scot a youth; lad

Word Origin for callant

C16: from Dutch or Flemish kalant customer, fellow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012