Cunningham

name, noun

name, noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A downhaul located at the tack of a sail, used for tightening the luff.

    "First route the cunningham through the fairlead, then the cam cleat. Tie a figure 8 knot seated close to the cam cleat."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A Scottish habitational surname and clan. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    An electoral division in New South Wales, Australia countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    A rural locality in Southern Downs Region, southern Queensland, Australia. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A locality in Yorke Peninsula council area, South Australia. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Floyd County, Georgia. countable, uncountable
Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    A number of places in the United States:; A township in Champaign County, Illinois. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A number of places in the United States:; A minor city in Kingman County, Kansas. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Carlisle County, Kentucky. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Chariton County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Pemiscot County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Fayette County, Ohio. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Tennessee. countable, uncountable
  8. 13
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Obion County, Tennessee. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Lamar County, Texas. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Fluvanna County, Virginia. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Adams County, Washington. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Hardy County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable

Example

More examples

"Mr. Cunningham saw him from the bedroom window, and Mr. Alec Cunningham saw him from the back passage."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Scottish Gaelic Coineagan, a district of Ayrshire, either from Old English cyning (“king”) or Scottish Gaelic coineanach (“rabbit”) + Old English hām (“home, estate; hamlet, village”).

Etymology 2

Named after its inventor, Briggs Cunningham.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.