highman

English

Etymology

From Middle English heimon, equivalent to high +‎ man.

Noun

highman (plural highmen)

1. A man of rank, especially a high rank; a superior.
   • 1834, The New sporting magazine, page 88:

     If not riding for life, that he is riding for immortality; and as the hero may perchance feel (for even a highman may feel like a hero), when he willingly throws away his existence in the hope of earning a glorious name, […]

   • 2007, David Farland, The Runelords:

     So the highman sent to the King, asking him to purchase the wool for his troops at a bargain price. "But the highman did not know that rain in the west hills had caused a blight of wool rot on the sheep there. […] "

2. (slang, obsolete) A loaded die that yields high numbers.
   • 2012, P F Chisholm, A Famine of Horses:

     "He had a couple of bales of crooked dice, a highman and a lowman and one with a bristle on the pip, but he hasn't the way of using them properly yet. […] "

Anagrams

• Highnam, Hingham