Category:Dogs

Dogs are carnivorous mammals. They live in a wide variety of habitats and can be feral or domesticated.

Dog, n. Etym: [AS. docga; akin to D. dog mastiff, Dan. dogge, Sw. dogg.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A quadruped of the genus Canis, esp. the domestic dog (C. familiaris).

Note: The dog is distinguished above all others of the inferior animals for intelligence, docility, and attachment to man. There are numerous carefully bred varieties, as the beagle, bloodhound, bulldog, coachdog, collie, Danish dog, foxhound, greyhound, mastiff, pointer, poodle, St. Bernard, setter, spaniel, spitz dog, terrier, etc. There are also many mixed breeds, and partially domesticated varieties, as well as wild dogs, like the dingo and dhole. (See these names in the Vocabulary.)

2. A mean, worthless fellow; a wretch. What is thy servant, which is but a dog, that he should do this great thing 2 Kings viii. 13 (Rev. Ver. )

3. A fellow; -- used humorously or contemptuously; as, a sly dog; a lazy dog. [Colloq.]

4. (Astron.)

Defn: One of the two constellations, Canis Major and Canis Minor, or the Greater Dog and the Lesser Dog. Canis Major contains the Dog Star (Sirius).

5. An iron for holding wood in a fireplace; a firedog; an andiron.

6. (Mech.) (a) A grappling iron, with a claw or claws, for fastening into wood or other heavy articles, for the purpose of raising or moving them. (b) An iron with fangs fastening a log in a saw pit, or on the carriage of a sawmill. (c) A piece in machinery acting as a catch or clutch; especially, the carrier of a lathe, also, an adjustable stop to change motion, as in a machine tool.

Note: Dog is used adjectively or in composition, commonly in the sense of relating to, or characteristic of, a dog. It is also used to denote a male; as, dog fox or g-fox, a male fox; dog otter or dog- otter, dog wolf, etc.; -- also to denote a thing of cheap or mean quality; as, dog Latin. A dead dog, a thing of no use or value. 1 Sam. xxiv. 14. -- A dog in the manger, an ugly-natured person who prevents others from enjoying what would be an advantage to them but is none to him. -- Dog ape (Zoöl.), a male ape. -- Dog cabbage, or Dog's cabbage (Bot.), a succulent herb, native to the Mediterranean region (Thelygonum Cynocrambe). -- Dog cheap, very cheap. See under Cheap. -- Dog ear (Arch.), an acroterium. [Colloq.] -- Dog flea (Zoöl.), a species of flea (Pulex canis) which infests dogs and cats, and is often troublesome to man. In America it is the common flea. See Flea, and Aphaniptera. -- Dog grass (Bot.), a grass (Triticum caninum) of the same genus as wheat. -- Dog Latin, barbarous Latin; as, the dog Latin of pharmacy. -- Dog lichen (Bot.), a kind of lichen (Peltigera canina) growing on earth, rocks, and tree trunks, -- a lobed expansion, dingy green above and whitish with fuscous veins beneath. -- Dog louse (Zoöl.), a louse that infests the dog, esp. Hæmatopinus piliferus; another species is Trichodectes latus. -- Dog power, a machine operated by the weight of a dog traveling in a drum, or on an endless track, as for churning. -- Dog salmon (Zoöl.), a salmon of northwest America and northern Asia; -- the gorbuscha; -- called also holia, and hone. -- Dog shark. (Zoöl.) See Dogfish. -- Dog's meat, meat fit only for dogs; refuse; offal. -- Dog Star. See in the Vocabulary. -- Dog wheat (Bot.), Dog grass. -- Dog whelk (Zoöl.), any species of univalve shells of the family Nassidæ, esp. the Nassa reticulata of England. -- To give, or throw, to the dogs, to throw away as useless. "Throw physic to the dogs; I'll none of it." Shak. -- To go to the dogs, to go to ruin; to be ruined.

dog Dog, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dogged; p. pr. & vb. n. Dogging.]

Defn: To hunt or track like a hound; to follow insidiously or indefatigably; to chase with a dog or dogs; to worry, as if by dogs; to hound with importunity. I have been pursued, dogged, and waylaid. Pope. Your sins will dog you, pursue you. Burroughs. Eager ill-bred petitioners, who do not so properly supplicate as hunt the person whom they address to, dogging him from place to place, till they even extort an answer to their rude requests. South.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Dog - Frequently mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments. Dogs were used by the Hebrews as a watch for their houses (Isaiah 56:10), and for guarding their flocks (Job 30:1). There were also then as now troops of semi-wild dogs that wandered about devouring dead bodies and the offal of the streets (1 Kings 14:11; 1 Kings 16:4; 1 Kings 21:19, 1 Kings 21:23; 1 Kings 22:38; Psalms 59:6, Psalms 59:14). As the dog was an unclean animal, the terms "dog," "dog's head," "dead dog," were used as terms of reproach or of humiliation (1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 3:8; 2 Samuel 9:8; 2 Samuel 16:9). Paul calls false apostles "dogs" (Philippians 3:2). Those who are shut out of the kingdom of heaven are also so designated (Revelation 22:15). Persecutors are called "dogs" (Psalms 22:16). Hazael's words, "Thy servant which is but a dog" (2 Kings 8:13), are spoken in mock humility = impossible that one so contemptible as he should attain to such power.

Uses
Dogs have assisted humans with hunting, guarding, and working with livestock, among other things.

Purebred Breeds
There are over 340 officially recognized pure breeds of domesticated dogs.

See also Category:Crossbred Dogs

Vernacular Names
English: Dog

In other languages, the word for dog is: Indonesian: anjing Javanese: asu, Segawon Balinese: cicing, Asu Sundanese: anjing Madurese: pate' Sawu: ngaka Toraja: asu Acehnese: Tetun: Tagalog: asu Hiligaynon: Maori: kuri~ Fijian: koli Hawaiian: 'ilio Malagasy: alika Rapanui: 'uri Chamorro: ga'lagu