cateran
[kat-er-uh n]
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noun
(formerly) a freebooter or marauder of the Scottish Highlands.
Origin of cateran
1325–75; < Medieval Latin caterānus, Latinized form of Middle English (Scots) catherein < Scots Gaelic ceatharn; see kern1
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cateran
Historical Examples of cateran
They will have no black-mail to pay, either to Master Nevis or to any other cateran who is in the habit of levying it on the road.
John Deane of NottinghamW.H.G. Kingston
We hae hangit a Highland cateran without trial afore this, and we may be tempted to tak the law into our ain hands again.
The Lancashire WitchesWilliam Harrison Ainsworth
I would give them as short a shrift as ever a Highland cateran got from a Glasgow judge.
The Mystery of CloomberArthur Conan Doyle
This missing youth turns out to be identical with the cateran of Drumshorlan.
No longer was he hunted by the cateran chief—no more were his lands devastated, or his cattle carried off.
cateran
noun
Word Origin for cateran
C14: probably from Scottish Gaelic ceathairneach robber, plunderer
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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