26 April 2012

It's the Wild West alright ~

Until I moved out west I had never given a thought to the etymology of "maverick." It's a word that has been in use since the 1880's and it refers to a calf or yearling that is unbranded. Specifically Samuel Maverick was a rancher who was negligent in branding his herd. So a "maverick" is an unconventional person and its original meaning was a calf without a master. Interesting!

4 comments:

  1. Weird - I had no idea about that. Thanks for the info.

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  2. Didn't know there was actually an 1880's rancher named Maverick whose name lives on...thanks for the info! That would be a great vanity plate to put on a Mustang or a Bronco or...can you think of any other western sounding vehicles?!

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  3. Well I'm not that knowledgeable about cars/trucks, etc. but there is the Tahoe SUV. And there is (or was) an SUV called the Tucson.

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    Replies
    1. Oh my, I feel like such a traitor for not remembering the SUV named Tucson!

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