cairn

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cairn

/kɛən/ UK
/kɛ(ə)ɹn/ US
/keːn/ Australia
/keən/ New Zealand
/kiən/
/keɹn/ Scotland
/kɜː(ɹ)n/

Sounds like (non-rhotic, æ-raising) can · Rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)n

Where it comes from

From Scots cairn, from Scottish Gaelic càrn, from Old Irish carn, from Proto-Celtic *karnos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”).

Compare Welsh carn, Cornish carn. Doublet of carn and horn.

noun cairns

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: / Why speak ye no word!"—said Glenara the stern.
Similar: See burial mound § Synonyms
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. After fifteen minutes of this we were glad to reach a high saddle on which former travellers had piled little cairns of commemoration and thankfulness.
A cairn terrier.

Translations

Every language

noun monument

Español	mojón, punto de referencia, montículo
한국어	돌무지 dolmuji
日本語	ケアン kean, ケルン kerun
中文	石冢 shízhǒng
Português	moledro
Français	cairn
Deutsch	Steinhügel
Русский	каирн kairn
עברית	גַּלְעֵד gal'éd

noun landmark

Português	moledro
Français	montjoie
Deutsch	Steindaube, Steinmännchen, Steinpyramide, Steinhügel, Steintürmchen
Italiano	ometto
Ελληνικά	σωρόλιθος sorólithos
Русский	тур tur

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Cite this

MLA

"cairn." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cairn. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cairn. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cairn

Chicago

"cairn." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cairn.

BibTeX

@misc{cairn_2026,
  title = {cairn},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cairn},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}