Cairn

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /kɛən/
• US IPA: /kɛərn/

Origin

From Scots cairn, from Scottish Gaelic carn ("heap of stones"); compare Old Irish carn, Welsh carn, probably from a Proto-Celtic word meaning ‘horn’.

Full definition of cairn

Noun

1. A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument.Now here let us place the gray stone of her cairn. -Campbell.
2. A pile of stones heaped up as a landmark, to guide travelers on land or at sea, or to arrest attention, as in surveying, or in leaving traces of an exploring party, etc.
3. A cairn terrier.

Derived terms

• cairned
• cairn terrier

Synonyms

• burial mound