Maverick

Maverick
   Samuel A. Maverick (1803-1870) was a lawyer, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, a prominent citizen of San Antonio, and the owner of 385,000 acres in the state. His name became part of our language after he accepted 400 head of cattle as a settlement of a claim. Maverick had no ranch experience, so he turned over the herd to a hired hand, who allowed the cattle to graze unbrandcd, according to a letter from W. A. Seidel, Sr. of Knippa Falls, Texas, a friend of a grandson of Maverick, and published in the Wall Street Journal in July 1977. The cattle roamed, especially the calves. Neighboring cattlemen took advantage of the situation; they branded the strays with their own brands and then simply added them to their herd. And so, even though Maverick subsequently sold his depleted herd, unbranded cattle came to be known as "mavericks," and such cattle could be claimed by any rancher.
   By extension, in general usage today, a maverick is an unorthodox individual, a masterless person, who deviates from the customary way of doing things, refusing to be branded, so to speak, thus taking an independent stand. It may apply to anyone who has no particular attachment for a place or a group of people, or, in politics, to a person who does not acknowledge party leadership or whose cause is unsupported by his constituency. He is, to borrow a popular phrase, "swimming upstream."

Dictionary of eponyms. . 2013.

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  • Maverick — or Maverik may refer to: Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick (see below) Contents 1 Computers 2 Film and television …   Wikipedia

  • Maverick — puede referirse a: Contenido 1 Significado 2 NERF 3 Lugares 4 Negocios 5 Cine y televisión …   Wikipedia Español

  • maverick — UK US /ˈmævərɪk/ noun [C] ► a person who thinks and acts in an independent way that is different from what is usual or expected: »She has established a reputation as a maverick. »a maverick businessman/personality/senator …   Financial and business terms

  • Maverick — Mav er*ick, n. In the southwestern part of the united States, a bullock or heifer that has not been branded, and is unclaimed or wild; said to be from Maverick, the name of a cattle owner in Texas who neglected to brand his cattle. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Maverick — Mav er*ick, v. t. To take a maverick. [Western U. S.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • maverick — 1867, calf or yearling found without an owner s brand, so called for Samuel A. Maverick (1803 1870), Texas cattle owner who was negligent in branding his calves. Sense of individualist, unconventional person is first recorded 1886, via notion of… …   Etymology dictionary

  • maverick — ► NOUN 1) an unorthodox or independent minded person. 2) N. Amer. an unbranded calf or yearling. ORIGIN from Samuel A. Maverick, a 19th century Texas rancher who did not brand his cattle …   English terms dictionary

  • maverick — ☆ maverick [mav′ər ik, mav′rik ] n. [after S. Maverick (1803 70), Texas rancher who did not brand his cattle] 1. an unbranded animal, esp. a strayed calf 2. Informal a person who takes an independent stand, as in politics, from that of a party or …   English World dictionary

  • Maverick — Maverick,   Prozessor des Herstellers Cirrus Logic, der als Codec in Audiogeräten eingesetzt wird, vor allem in MP3 Playern. Er unterstützt neben MP3 auch weitere Audioformate, etwa WMA und AAC …   Universal-Lexikon

  • maverick — [n] person who takes chances, departs from accepted course bohemian, dissenter, extremist, malcontent, nonconformist, radical; concepts 348,423 …   New thesaurus

  • Maverick — Der Begriff Maverick leitet sich vom Namen des Politikers und Rinderzüchters Samuel A. Maverick (1803–1870) ab, der seine Rinder nicht brandmarkte. Daraufhin wurden Rinder ohne Brandzeichen generell als Maverick bezeichnet. Im englischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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