maverick (2009-07-04)

Part of Speech: noun

Pronunciation: ['mæ-vêr-ik]

Definition: An orphan calf or other animal that leaves the pack or herd. An outsider, an iconoclast or self-oriented person who lives by his or her own rules, often perceived as a danger or threat.

Usage: The quintessential mavericks were Bret (James Garner) and Bart (Jack Kelly) Maverick on the U.S. TV show "Maverick" in the 1960's. They were cowboys who lived just outside the law and, breaking the mold of Western heroes, displayed a marked lack of courage. However, Galileo and Charles Darwin were among the scientific mavericks who led our understanding to the modern world.

Suggested Usage: "Maverick" is itself a maverick word, a lonesome lexical orphan. Though no adjective, adverb or verb may be derived from it, it may be used itself as an adjective, "Trimble is a maverick CEO who takes his company where others fear to tread."

Etymology: The eponym of today's word is Texas cattleman, Samuel Maverick (1803-1870), who let his unbranded cattle roam wild. Other ranchers, who "adopted" them, called them "mavericks" (Maverick's"?) While serving in the U.S. Congress (1935-1939), Sam's grandson, Maury Maverick, coined the word "gobbledygook" to describe bureaucratic doubletalk. He later explained that the word is onomatopoeic, based on the sound turkeys make, "...always gobbledygobbling and strutting with ludicrous pomposity." At the end of their gobble, they give out a sort of "gook."