cateran

American

[kat-er-uhn] / ˈkæt ər ən /

noun

(formerly) a freebooter or marauder of the Scottish Highlands.

cateran British

/ ˈkætərən /

noun

(formerly) a member of a band of brigands and marauders in the Scottish highlands

"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

Etymology

Origin of cateran

1325–75; < Medieval Latin caterānus, Latinized form of Middle English ( Scots ) catherein < Scots Gaelic ceatharn; kern ¹

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.

Taking to the stage after a short opening blast by Scottish support band The Cateran, Nirvana's ferocious power quickly won him over.

From BBC

Wulf laughed, but found him surprising, as the cateran spirit of his forebears came uppermost with this tremendous opportunity.

From Project Gutenberg

At bottom this man was just a wild Highland cateran with a dash of Spanish buccaneer, hot-blooded, avid of gain under circumstances so propitious, insatiable.

From Project Gutenberg

This missing youth turns out to be identical with the cateran of Drumshorlan.

From Project Gutenberg

No longer was he hunted by the cateran chief—no more were his lands devastated, or his cattle carried off.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023