maverick means unbranded. It carries an Arena rating of 1709, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, maverick ranks #24 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #251 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,240 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,512 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
maverick is pronounced /ˈmævəɹɪk/.
Why “maverick” is a great word
A person who exhibits independent, nonconformist spirit, or a stray calf without an owner's brand. Named after Texan lawyer and politician Samuel Maverick (1803–1870), who refused to brand his cattle; first attested 1867 in reference to unbranded calves. Unlike 'eccentric,' which primarily denotes oddity, or 'traditionalist,' which clings to the established, a maverick is defined by autonomous thought—a principled break from the herd. It is the unbranded steer drifting through scrubland, the lone dissenting voice in a unanimous vote, the scientist pursuing a discredited theory with quiet conviction—a testament to the stubborn self-sovereignty that trusts its own hide requires no external brand.
Etymology
Named after Texan lawyer and politician Samuel Maverick (1803–1870), who refused to brand his cattle. For probable origin and meaning, see Maverick. The poker noun sense (“a queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold ’em”) may be from the theme song of the US Western television series Maverick (1957–1962), which says of the eponymous protagonist that “[g]amblin’ is his game” and that he is “livin’ on jacks and queens”.
adj
- Unbranded.
- Showing independence in thoughts or actions.e.g.“He made a maverick decision. She is such a maverick person.”
name
- A surname.
- A male given name.
- Any of several individual secondary school and sports team mascots, most of which are in the United States.
noun
- An unbranded range animal.
- Anything dishonestly obtained.
- One who is unconventional or does not abide by rules.e.g.“Among historians he was a maverick because of his belief that history is meaningless.”
- One who creates or uses controversial or unconventional ideas or practices.e.g.“We then drift back into our old habits, glorify efficiency, and smile knowingly at the mavericks within the faculty who want the administration to take democracy seriously.” — 1947, Norman Burns, The Administration of Higher Institutions under Changing Conditions (Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions; Proceedings), Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicag
- A person in the military who became an officer by going to college while on active duty as an enlisted person.e.g.“They had been working for and with each other for a very long period and their tolerance for “mavericks” was very high, especially if these mavericks continued to get promoted.” — 2013, John T. Kuehn, “The Navy, Treaties, and Innovation”, in Agents of Innovation: The General Board and the Design of the Fleet that Defeated the Japanese Navy, Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press
- A queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold ’em.
- A member of one of the sports teams with a mascot called Maverick.
- Someone who attends, or has attended in the past, one of these schools, especially one involved in the sports teams.
verb
- To take an unbranded range animal.
- To seize without a legal claim.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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