mormaer means A regional or provincial ruler in the mediaeval Kingdom of the Scots. It carries an Arena rating of 1382, earned across 29 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mormaer ranks #2,819 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #4,247 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #6,401 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #6,600 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
Why “mormaer” is a great word
MORMAER — [Noun] A regional or provincial ruler in the medieval Kingdom of the Scots. From Scottish Gaelic mórmhaor, from mòr ("great") + maor ("steward, bailiff"). Unlike "earl," a rank grafted from Anglo-Norman feudalism, or "thane," an English term for a landholding official, the mormaer was the native articulation of power, a great steward whose authority flowed from the ancient soil of Alba. He was the shadow in the hall of the hillfort, the voice whose judgment settled cattle-raids, and the arm that could raise the war-host of a province—a lord not by parchment charter, but by the old, deep weight of kin and territory, a sovereignty that outlasts crowns.
Etymology
From Gaelic (cf. mórmhaor), likely borrowed from Pictish *ᚋᚑᚏᚋᚐᚓᚏ.
noun
- A regional or provincial ruler in the mediaeval Kingdom of the Scots.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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