*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of cowan

First attested in 1598.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A worker in unmortared stone; a stonemason who has not served an apprenticeship. · A person who attempts to pass himself off as a Freemason without having experienced the rituals or going through the degrees. · A sneak; an inquisitive or prying person. · Uninitiated, outside, “profane”.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

First attested in 1598.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A worker in unmortared stone; a stonemason who has not served an apprenticeship.",
        "A person who attempts to pass himself off as a Freemason without having experienced the rituals or going through the degrees.",
        "A sneak; an inquisitive or prying person.",
        "Uninitiated, outside, “profane”."
      ],
      "tags": [
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A fishing-boat.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

First attested in 1722; perhaps from the Scottish Gaelic cobhan (“coffer”, “box”, “ark”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gd",
        "3": "cobhan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "coffer”, “box”, “ark"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic cobhan (“coffer”, “box”, “ark”)"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "cobhan",
      "cobhan#Scottish_Gaelic"
    ]
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A fishing-boat."
      ],
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        "rare"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cowan →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y293YW4