spaniel

American  

[span-yuhl] / ˈspæn jəl /

noun

• spaniels
  plural

1. one of any of several breeds of small or medium-sized dogs, usually having a long, silky coat and long, drooping ears.

2. a submissive, fawning, or cringing person.

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spaniel British  

/ ˈspænjəl /

noun

1. any of several breeds of gundog with long drooping ears, a silky coat, and formerly a docked tail See clumber spaniel cocker spaniel field spaniel springer spaniel Sussex spaniel water spaniel

2. either of two toy breeds of spaniel See King Charles spaniel

3. an obsequiously devoted person

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spaniellike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spaniels
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of spaniel

1350–1400; Middle English spaynel < Old French espaignol Spanish (dog), derivative of Espaigne Spain

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Explanation

A spaniel is a wavy-haired dog with long, soft ears that was bred to help hunters by startling birds out of their hiding spots. Spaniels were bred as gun dogs, flushing game out of bushes, retrieving birds from the water, and pointing their bodies toward the hunter's prey, but most of these dogs are perfectly happy lounging on the couch. Whether it's a springer spaniel or a little Cavalier King Charles, this type of dog has feathery hair and long ears, and makes a great pal. The name, "Spanish" in Latin, is from an unproven theory that it originated in Spain.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spaniel spaniels

My daughter is a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Clover, and for the past couple of months, she’s had clipped to her collar an A.I. communication device known as the PetPhone.

From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026

Lazare, a Papillon dwarf spaniel with stand-up "butterfly" ears, was born on December 4, 1995, according to animal charity worker Anne-Sophie Moyon.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

Part of the accusation was aimed at a cocker spaniel the Nixons were given by a supporter that his six-year-old daughter Tricia had named Checkers.

From Salon ● May 8, 2026

Shelley Perkins, from Henleaze, Bristol, has spent more than £20,000 on cancer treatment for her five-year-old cocker spaniel Roxy in two years.

From BBC ● May 4, 2026

By contrast, a bulldog and a spaniel may look very different, but they are members of the same species, sharing the same DNA pool.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Dame Mary also said her two spaniels had been trained to stay off the lawn and flower beds.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

Rob Holder, general manager at Clumber Park, said while the origins of the Clumber spaniel were not clear, they may have come from a kennel of prized spaniels gifted to the 2nd Duke.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

Mamaradlo breeds cocker spaniels that live with her when they’re not “working.”

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2025

On Sunday, West Midlands Police paid tribute to three of its "digi dogs", spaniels which help search for devices such as mobile phones, SIM cars and memory sticks, which can often be important evidence.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2024

He looked at dogs crossed with wolves and with foxes; he looked at Persian greyhounds, Italian greyhounds, setters, and spaniels.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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