Shar-Pei

American  

[shahr-pey] / ˈʃɑrˈpeɪ /

noun

1. one of a Chinese breed of large muscular dogs having a distinctive wrinkly skin covered by a fawn to dark brown smooth coat, originally developed as a guard dog.

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Shar Pei British  

/ ʃɑː ˈpeɪ /

noun

1. a compact squarely-built dog of a Chinese breed, with loose wrinkled skin and a harsh bristly coat

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Etymology

Origin of Shar-Pei

First recorded in 1975–80; from dialectal Chinese, equivalent to Chinese shā pí literally, “sand fur” (compare Guangdong dialect sā péi ); English spelling with r perhaps r-less speaker's representation of the vowel

Example Sentences

The par-4 fifth at Kinloch is nestled beneath hills that resemble the folds of a giantslumbering Shar-Pei.

From Golf Digest • Jan. 21, 2020

Jumblatt’s main companion these days is an arthritic Shar-Pei named Oscar.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 4, 2016

She also said she liked being able to bring her dog, a Shar-Pei named Mabel Ming, to work every day.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2016

Jeffrey Bolger, 50, lost out on about 10 months of paychecks while he was accused of killing a 7-year-old Shar-Pei in June 2014, the Baltimore Sun reports.

From Time • Mar. 8, 2016

Two Siberian tiger cubs abandoned in Russia by their mother have found an unusual substitute mom — a wrinkled, sand-colored Shar-Pei dog named Cleopatra, a zoo worker said.

From Washington Post • Jul. 20, 2012