Etymology

cairn

C3A1I1R1N1

Today it means: A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument. Full definition →

Scots cairn ← Scottish Gaelic càrn ← Old Irish carn
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱerh₂-“horn”
  2. Proto-Celtic · derived from*karnos
  3. Old Irish · derived fromcarn
  4. Scottish Gaelic · derived fromcàrn
  5. Scots · borrowed fromcairn
  6. English todaycairn

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.

Words from the same roots

Scotscairn all →

cairns

Proto-Celtic*karnos all →

Carnecarnyx

Proto-Indo-European*ḱerh₂- all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.