maverick English · revision 179

5 Oct 2026, 22:11 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈmævəɹɪk/; /ˈmævəɹɪk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+ 
  ==Etymology==
− First recorded in 1867,^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) originally meaning “a calf or yearling found without an owner's brand”,^(Etymonline) after Samuel A. Maverick (1803–1870), a Texas cattle owner who left the calves of his herd unbranded.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) The sense “unconventional, independent person” is said to be attested by 1886, through the notion of “masterless”.^(Etymonline)
+ After Samuel A. Maverick (1803–1870), a Texas cattle owner who left the calves of his herd unbranded.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) The American Heritage Dictionary also considers as a possible source the English-born colonist Samuel Maverick (1602?–1676?).^(AHD) The family name is an old one in Boston.^(Etymonline)
  
− The American Heritage Dictionary also considers as a possible source the English-born colonist Samuel Maverick (1602?–1676?).^(AHD)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A calf or yearling found without an owner's brand, in the cattle country of the American West (1867).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The sense “unconventional, independent person” is said to be attested by 1886, through the notion of “masterless”,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) but its modern popularity seems to date from the late 1930s and the career of Maury Maverick, Samuel's grandson, a Texas congressman known for his independent streak.^(Etymonline) In the western United States the word also meant anything dishonestly obtained.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1867 – an unbranded calf.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1883 – verb, “to seize or brand as a maverick”.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1886 – “an independent person, an individualist”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * late 1930s – popularized by the congressman Maury Maverick.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # An independent person who refuses to conform to a group or party.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # An unbranded range animal, especially a motherless calf.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Independent in thought and action.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)
  
  ==References==