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Shar-Pei

[ shahr-pey ]
/ ˈʃɑrˈpeɪ /
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noun
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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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
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How to use Shar-Pei in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Shar-Pei

Shar Pei
/ (ʃɑː ˈpeɪ) /

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

Word Origin for Shar Pei

C20: from Chinese shā pí, literally: sand skin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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