Cairn

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cairn \Cairn\, n. [Gael. carn, gen. cairn, a heap: cf. Ir. & W.
     carn.]
     1. A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early
        inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a
        sepulchral monument.
        [1913 Webster]


  
              Now here let us place the gray stone of her cairn.
                                                    --Campbell.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A pile of stones heaped up as a landmark, or to arrest
        attention, as in surveying, or in leaving traces of an
        exploring party, etc. --C. Kingsley. Kane.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cairn
       n 1: a mound of stones piled up as a memorial or to mark a
            boundary or path
       2: small rough-haired breed of terrier from Scotland [syn: {cairn
          terrier}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  67 Moby Thesaurus words for "cairn":
     arch, barrow, bench mark, bookmark, boundary stone, brass, bust,
     catstone, cenotaph, column, cromlech, cross, cup, cyclolith,
     dolmen, footstone, grave, gravestone, headstone, hoarstone,
     inscription, landmark, lighthouse, lightship, mark, marker,
     mausoleum, megalith, memento, memorial, memorial arch,
     memorial column, memorial statue, memorial stone, menhir, milepost,
     milestone, monolith, monument, mound, necrology, obelisk, obituary,
     pharos, pillar, plaque, platform, prize, pyramid, reliquary,
     remembrance, ribbon, rostral column, seamark, shaft, shrine, stela,
     stone, stupa, tablet, testimonial, tomb, tombstone, tope, tower,
     trophy, watchtower