entry
dog
/dɔɡ/Domesticated canine; to pursue or harass persistently
From O.English dog (Dog).
from Old English dogga, docga, of uncertain origin. The original meaning seems to have been a common dog, as opposed to...
from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug)
from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug)
from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug)
Word Ancestry
from Old English dogga, docga, of uncertain origin. The original meaning seems to have been a common dog, as opposed to...
from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug)
from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug)
from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug)
English already had a perfectly respectable word for a dog: hound, descended from the ancient Indo-European word represented by PIE *kwon-, the ancestor of canine and cynic. Then, sometime before about 1200, dogga appeared like an etymological stray puppy, with no securely identified parent. It may have been a pet-form with the suffix -ga, perhaps related to words for something dark, useful, or stumpy—but none of these theories has won the leash. In medieval England, hound was the broad everyday term while dog could suggest a stocky, rough, or badly bred animal; by the 16th century, dog had staged a complete takeover, leaving hound mainly for hunting breeds. The word then crossed the Channel and became French dogue, German Dogge, and Danish dogge, while dogfish acquired its name from the old image of sharks hunting in packs. So dog is a linguistic mystery that conquered English anyway: the word with no known pedigree became the world’s most familiar canine label.
The Story
English already had a perfectly respectable word for a dog: hound, descended from the ancient Indo-European word represented by PIE *kwon-, the ancestor of canine and cynic. Then, sometime before about 1200, dogga appeared like an etymological stray puppy, with no securely identified parent. It may have been a pet-form with the suffix -ga, perhaps related to words for something dark, useful, or stumpy—but none of these theories has won the leash. In medieval England, hound was the broad everyday term while dog could suggest a stocky, rough, or badly bred animal; by the 16th century, dog had staged a complete takeover, leaving hound mainly for hunting breeds. The word then crossed the Channel and became French dogue, German Dogge, and Danish dogge, while dogfish acquired its name from the old image of sharks hunting in packs. So dog is a linguistic mystery that conquered English anyway: the word with no known pedigree became the world’s most familiar canine label.
Modern Usage
A familiar form of address meaning “bro,” “dude,” or “man”; also used in other slang senses.
Kin & Kindred
From 'dog'·Dog; canine, apparently originally a breed or type
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary