cair

C3A1I1R1

verb

To go.

OriginMiddle English cairen ← Old Norse keyra ← Proto-Germanic *kaurijaną →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

cair1

verbcair (third-person singular simple present cairs, present participle cairing, simple past and past participle caired)

present singular third person cairs · participle present cairing · participle past caired · past caired

  1. intransitiveobsoleteTo go.
  2. obsoletetransitiveTo carry.
  3. dialectaltransitiveTo toss backwards and forwards; mix up; overhandle; stir about.

cair2

nouncair (plural cairs)

plural cairs

  1. alternativeAlternative form of caer (“Welsh fortress”).

CAIR3

proper noun
  1. USabbreviationacronymAcronym of Clean Air Interstate Rule.
  2. USabbreviationacronymAcronym of Council on American-Islamic Relations.
  3. abbreviationAbbreviation of Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
nounCAIR (uncountable)
  1. AustraliaabbreviationacronymuncountableAcronym of confidential aviation incident reporting.
  2. abbreviationuncountableAbbreviation of carboxyaminoimidazole ribotide.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*kaurijaną“to turn, sweep”
  2. Old Norsekeyra“to whip, lash, fling, toss, prick on, drive”
  3. Middle Englishcairen
  4. Englishcair

From Middle English cairen, kayren, from Old Norse keyra (“to whip, lash, fling, toss, prick on, drive”), from Proto-Germanic *kaurijaną (“to turn, sweep”). Cognate with Icelandic keyra (“to run, drive, urge”), Swedish köra (“to drive, go, run”), Danish køre (“to drive”), Norwegian Bokmål kjøre (“to drive”), Norwegian Nynorsk køyra (“to drive”), Old English ċierran (“to turn, change, go, come”). More at char.

More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

CiracriaAcriCrai
Cite this entry
APA

cair. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cair

MLA

“cair.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cair. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cair,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cair.

Source: cair on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.