Caledonians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Inhabitants of Caledonia, the Latin name for Scotland or its northern highlands ; people of Scottish descent or origin living in other lands
2. The Celtic peoples who lived in ancient northern Britain ; Scots, or those of Scottish heritage, especially in a regiment or diaspora community
3. Natives of the historic region called Caledonia ; men or families of Scottish ancestry, including members of Highland units or overseas Scottish societies

Etymology: The Caledonians were the peoples of ancient northern Britain, and their name survives mainly as a Roman label for the land north of the Forth. The Latin "Calēdonia" was the name the Romans gave to that region, and its ultimate origin is uncertain, so it is best left as a regional name rather than a word with a clear meaning. The English adjective "Caledonian" is simply "Caledonia" plus the suffix "-an", which denotes belonging to or relating to a place, and English took the term through Old French and Middle English as the suffix passed down its own chain of forms. Caledonian is therefore a plural of a place-derived adjective used as a noun: it refers to the people associated with Caledonia. Because the Romans applied the name to a region they knew only at its edges, the Caledonians were a collective label imposed from outside, and the various groups it covered may never have thought of themselves as one people.

Synonyms: Scot, Scotsman, Scotswoman