cayman

[key-muh n]

noun, plural cay·mans.

caiman.

caiman

or cay·man

[key-muh n]

noun, plural cai·mans.

any of several tropical American crocodilians of the genus Caiman and allied genera: some are endangered.

Origin of caiman

1570–80; < Spanish caimán < Carib

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

Examples from the Web for cayman

Contemporary Examples of cayman

The British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Belize, and Switzerland.
This Is Where the World’s Richest People Hide Their Money
Eliza Shapiro
April 4, 2013
Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign toasted its top donors Wednesday aboard a 150-foot yacht flying the flag of the Cayman Islands.
RNC Diary: The Price Of The Party
David Frum
August 30, 2012
Biggest response: "He holds as much as $8 million in accounts in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying taxes on it."
Interesting Research on Voters and "Getting Better"
Michael Tomasky
June 12, 2012
He railed about how the law was being obstructed in Guantánamo Bay and about money laundering in the Cayman Islands and in London.
Assange Addresses Occupy London Protesters
Mike Giglio
October 15, 2011

Historical Examples of cayman

The screams of the poor fellow were terrible as the cayman was running off with him.
The Western World
W.H.G. Kingston
On the 1st of December they caught sight, far away in the south, of the grand island of Cayman.
The Adventures of the Chevalier De La Salle and His Companions, in Their Explorations of the Prairies, Forests, Lakes, and Rivers, of the New World, and Their Interviews with the Savage Tribes, Two Hundred Years Ago
John S. C. Abbott
The cayman, not liking the morsel, looked about for something more to his taste.
A Voyage round the World
W.H.G. Kingston
“If the cayman had come near me, he would have had to repent of his boldness,” he observed.
The Wanderers
W.H.G. Kingston
That cayman with his mouth open is like the Yankee waiting for Colombia to walk in.
The Gilded Man
Clifford Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for cayman

cayman

caiman

noun plural -mans

any tropical American crocodilian of the genus Caiman and related genera, similar to alligators but with a more heavily armoured belly: family Alligatoridae (alligators, etc)

Word Origin for cayman

C16: from Spanish caimán, from Carib cayman, probably of African origin

caiman

noun plural -mans

a variant spelling of cayman

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

Word Origin and History for cayman

caiman

also cayman, 1570s, from Portuguese or Spanish caiman, from Carib acayouman "crocodile," or perhaps from a Congo African word applied to the reptiles in the new world by African slaves. "The name appears to be one of those like anaconda and bom, boma, which the Portuguese or Spaniards very early caught up in one part of the world, and naturalized in another." [OED]