kennel

¹

[ken-l]

noun

1. a house or shelter for a dog or a cat.

2. Often kennels an establishment where dogs or cats are bred, raised, trained, or boarded.

3. the hole or lair of an animal, especially a fox.

4. a wretched abode likened to a doghouse.

5. Rare.,  a pack of dogs, especially hunting dogs.

   He inherited his love of quail hunting from his father who'd gifted him a kennel of pointers.

verb (used with object)

kenneled, kenneling , kennelled, kennelling .

1. to put into or keep in a kennel.

   to kennel a dog for a week.

verb (used without object)

kenneled, kenneling , kennelled, kennelling .

1. to take shelter or lodge in a kennel.

kennel

²

[ken-l]

noun

1. an open drain or sewer; gutter.

kennel

¹

/ ˈkɛnəl /

noun

1. US name: doghouse. a hutlike shelter for a dog

2. (usually plural) an establishment where dogs are bred, trained, boarded, etc

3. the lair of a fox or other animal

4. a ramshackle house; hovel

5. a pack of hounds

verb

1. to put or go into a kennel; keep or stay in a kennel

kennel

²

/ ˈkɛnəl /

noun

1. archaic,  an open sewer or street gutter

Word History and Origins

Origin of kennel¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English kenel, from unattested Anglo-French kenil ( French chenil) from unattested Vulgar Latin canīle ( Latin can(is) “dog” + -īle suffix of place)

Origin of kennel²

First recorded in 1575–85; variant of earlier cannel, Middle English canel channel ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of kennel¹

C14: from Old French chenil, from Vulgar Latin canīle (unattested), from Latin canis dog

Origin of kennel²

C16: variant of cannel _channel ¹

Example Sentences

He had been imported from a kennel in Utah.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"We have police struggling to enforce and respond to dog incidents, huge delays getting to court costing hundreds of thousands in kennelling and police costs," she says.

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The BBC has tracked fighting kennels to unlikely places in the UK – from a busy housing estate to the grounds of a stately home.

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Their other dog, Dexter, who was Shadow's companion, had died a few months before and they did not want to put him in kennels on his own.

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She described the cages in which detainees were held as “an oversized kennel.”

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Related Words

• enclosure