deerhound

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a very large, rough-coated sighthound originally bred in Scotland to hunt deer

   The tall grey deerhound crossed the moor with an effortless stride.

A compound of deer + hound, continuing an old Germanic pattern for naming hunting dogs by their quarry. Old English hēahdēorhund ("stag-hound, dog for hunting large game") attests the underlying type; the modern compound refers especially to the Scottish Deerhound breed.

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