dog

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   someone who is morally reprehensible

   you dirty dog

2. 2
   noun

   informal term for a man

   you lucky dog

3. 3
   noun

   A mammal of the family Canidae:

   The dog barked all night long.

4. 4
   noun

   The meat of this animal, eaten as food.

   Did you know that they eat dog in parts of Asia?

5. 5
   noun

   A person:

   She’s a real dog.

6. 6
   noun

   A mechanical device or support:

   Whenever possible, let the tree support the weight of the chainsaw. Pivot the saw, using the saw's dogs (spikes) as a fulcrum.

7. 7
   noun

   A hot dog: a frankfurter, wiener, or similar sausage; or a sandwich made from this.

   Congressmen gleefully wolfed down every imaginable version of the hot dog – smoked kielbasas, jumbo grillers, Big & Juicy's, kosher dogs and spiced dogs […]

8. 8
   noun

   Foot; toe.

   My dogs are barking!

Etymology

Etymology tree Old English [Term?]? Proto-Germanic *-gô Proto-West Germanic *-gō Old English -ga Old English dogga Middle English dogge English dog Inherited from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug), from Old English dogga, docga, of uncertain origin. The original meaning seems to have been a common dog, as opposed to a well-bred one, or something like 'cur', and perhaps later came to be used for stocky dogs. Possibly a pet-form diminutive with suffix -ga (compare frocga (“frog”), *picga (“pig”)), appended to a base *dog-, *doc- of unclear origin and meaning. One possibility is Old Englis…