See also[edit]
From Dutch docht.
Noun[edit]
dog
Bislama[edit]
dog
Swedish[edit]
dog
Dutch[edit]
Borrowed from English dog. Attested since the 16th century.
Many expressions — a dogs life (c. 1600), go to the dogs (1610s), dog-cheap (1520s), etc. — reflect the earlier hard use of the animals as hunting accessories, not 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,” kindynos, which appears to be “play the dog” (but Beekes is against this).
The word forced out Old English hund (the general Germanic and Indo-European word, from root from PIE root *kwon-) by 16c. and subsequently was picked up in many continental languages (French dogue (16c.), Danish dogge, German Dogge (16c.). 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 is of unknown origin.
“quadruped of the genus Canis,” Old English docga, a late, rare word, used in at least one Middle English source in reference specifically to a powerful breed of canine; other early Middle English uses tend to be depreciatory or abusive. Its origin remains one of the great mysteries of English etymology.
Meaning “something poor or mediocre, a failure” is by 1936 in U.S. slang. From late 14c. as the name for a heavy metal clamp of some kind. Dogs age “a long time” is by 1836. Adjectival phrase dog-eat-dog “ruthlessly competitive” is by 1850s. Phrase put on the dog “get dressed up” (1934) may be from comparison of dog collars to the stiff stand-up shirt collars that in the 1890s were the height of male fashion (and were known as dog-collars from at least 1883).