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maverick

adj
/ˈmævəɹɪk/UK/ˈmævəɹɪk/US

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”.

Definitions

  1. Unbranded.

    • But I would rather have maverick cattle, they are more accustomed to range conditions. My cattle from the registered herd have not done too well.
    • Attempts to regulate the distribution of maverick cattle throughout the 1880s affected particularly the access of cowboys to mavericks.

  2. Showing independence in thoughts or actions.

    • He made a maverick decision.  She is such a maverick person.
    • A maverick person tends to be wild, unsettled, and irresponsible, often an outlaw not bound by the rules and mores of society.
    • John Maynard Keynes, the internationally renowned economist, was impressed by Alan [Turing]'s work, and his unorthodox style. […] It is quite likely that Keynes viewed Alan and his maverick attitude to maths research sympathetically.

  3. An unbranded range animal.

    • Long Bill was a graduate of the camp and trail. Luck and thrift, a cool head, and a telescopic eye for mavericks had raised him from cowboy to be a cowman.
  4. ›+ 12 more definitions

    1. Anything dishonestly obtained.

    2. One who is unconventional or does not abide by rules.

      • Among historians he was a maverick because of his belief that history is meaningless.

    3. One who creates or uses controversial or unconventional ideas or practices.

      • 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.
      • 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.

    4. A person in the military who became an officer by going to college while on active duty…

      A person in the military who became an officer by going to college while on active duty as an enlisted person.

      • 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.

    5. A queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold ’em.

    6. To take an unbranded range animal.

    7. To seize without a legal claim.

    8. A surname.

    9. A male given name.

    10. Any of several individual secondary school and sports team mascots, most of which are in…

      Any of several individual secondary school and sports team mascots, most of which are in the United States.

    11. A member of one of the sports teams with a mascot called Maverick.

    12. Someone who attends, or has attended in the past, one of these schools, especially one…

      Someone who attends, or has attended in the past, one of these schools, especially one involved in the sports teams.

The neighborhood

Derived

maverick brand, mavericker, maverickish, maverickism, mavericky

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for maverick. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA