maverick

English

Etymology

From the surname of Texas lawyer Samuel Maverick, who refused to brand his cattle. The surname Maverick is possibly of Welsh origin, and is related to the given name Maurice. Maurice is a Gaelic name meaning "seafarer", from the Phoenician mauharim, but it may also come from the Welsh Mawr-rwyce, meaning "valiant hero". Another possibility is the Hebrew word: "Mavrik or Maverik" which means: shiny or brilliant.

Pronunciation

• enPR: măvʹər-ĭk, IPA: /ˈmævərɪk/, SAMPA: /"m{v@rIk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

maverick (comparative more maverick, superlative most maverick)

1. Showing independence in thoughts or actions.

   He made a maverick decision.

   He is a maverick person.

Translations

showing independence

Catalan: individualista m. and f. Croatian: svojeglav (hr) m. Dutch: eigenwijs (nl) Estonian: isemõtleja, individualist Finnish: itsenäinen (fi), riippumaton (fi) French: individualiste (fr) m. and f. German: individualistisch (de) Hindi: gair paaramparik (hi) (गैर पारंपरिक) m.

Hungarian: független (hu), individualista (hu) Italian: individualista (it) m. and f. Macedonian: индивидуалист Portuguese: independente (pt), rebelde (pt) Romanian: individualist (ro) Russian: индивидуалист (ru) (individualíst) m. Spanish: rebelde (es) m. and f., disidente (es) m. and f. Turkish: bireyselci

Noun

maverick (plural mavericks)

1. An unbranded range animal.
2. One who does not abide by rules.
3. One who creates or uses unconventional and/or controversial ideas or practices.

   Florence Nightingale would have been perceived as a maverick during her early career, because she was prioritizing hygiene when everybody else involved in healthcare was focused on other things, such as surgery and pills. (Source: Edzard Ernst and Simon Singh, Trick or Treatment, 2008, p. 36-37.)

4. (poker slang) A queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold ’em

Synonyms

• (one who does not abide by rules): individualist, lone gunman, nonconformist, rebel

Translations

unbranded range animal

Estonian: isemõtleja individualist Finnish: merkitsemätön eläin

Italian: brado (it) m. Spanish: cimarrón (es)

one who does not abide by rules

Dutch: individualist (nl) c., nonconformist (nl) m. French: anticonformiste (fr) German: Querkopf (de) m., Individualist (de) m.

Polish: indywidualista (pl) m., wolny duch (pl) Portuguese: inconformista (pt) m. and f., excêntrico (pt) m., excêntrica (pt) f., dissidente (pt) m. and f.

one who creates or uses unconventional and/or controversial ideas or practices

poker slang: queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold ’em

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Italian: indipendente, anticonformista, dissidente, battitore libero French: non-conformiste, excentrique, dissident, franc-tireur

See also

• heteroclite

References

• Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. ISBN 978-1880069523