dog

More words related to dog

Word Origin & History

Old English docga, a late, rare word used of a powerful breed of canine. It forced out Old English hund (the general Germanic and Indo-European word; see canine) by 16c. and subsequently was picked up in many continental languages (e.g. French dogue (16c.), Danish dogge), but the origin remains one of the great mysteries of English etymology.

Many expressions -- a dog's life (c.1600), go to the dogs (1610s), etc. -- reflect earlier hard use of the animals as hunting accessories, not pampered pets. In ancient times, "the dog" was the worst throw in dice (attested in Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit, where the word for "the lucky player" was literally "the dog-killer"), which plausibly explains the Greek word for "danger," kindynas, which appears to be "play the dog."

Slang meaning "ugly woman" is from 1930s; that of "sexually aggressive man" is from 1950s. Adjectival phrase dog-eat-dog attested by 1850s. Dog tag is from 1918. To dog-ear a book is from 1650s; dog-eared in extended sense of "worn, unkempt" is from 1894.

Phrase put on the dog "get dressed up" (1934) may look back to the stiff stand-up shirt collars that in the 1890s were the height of male fashion (and were known as dog-collars at least from 1883), with reference to collars worn by dogs. The common Spanish word for "dog," perro, also is a mystery word of unknown origin, perhaps from Iberian. A group of Slavic "dog" words (Old Church Slavonic pisu, Polish pies, Serbo-Croatian pas) likewise are of unknown origin.

Example Sentences for dog

Eudora blushed deeply, and busily caressed the dog with her foot.

And oh, sir,” added Stephen, “may we crave a drop of water for our dog?

And throwing himself on the grass, he hid his face against the dog and sobbed.

In this he resembled a dog who barks when a stranger approaches.

When it is cold, the dog finds a spot in front of the stove.

The dog, lying by his side, seemed to look at me with sad, imploring eyes.

The following day he walked again, with Sally following like a dog at his heels.

The dog went in with him, and stood looking up into his face.

There was something about her eyes not unlike the dog's expression, submissive, but questioning.

Halfway to the trolley line, the dog turned off into a by-road.

dog

More words related to dog

hounding

hunt

kid around

kidding around

kids around

mutt

nag

nagged

persecute

dog

More words related to dog

.css-1unrqcp{color:inherit;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}hounding

hounding