spaniel

American  

[span-yuhl] / ˈspæn yəl /

noun

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

• spaniellike adjective

Etymology

Origin of spaniel

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

Example Sentences

Checks by officers established the identity of the brown and white spaniel who was handed back to her "very happy" owners.

From BBC

Three members of Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team, along with the spaniel's owner and a local deer stalker, made a search the following morning when she was found and rescued.

From BBC

Thor woke from his nap just when Laurence was finishing the last bath, which was for an inky spaniel named Webster.

From Literature

The cost of the treatment pushed her over her insurance limit and meant she could not cover the English springer spaniel's cancer treatment via her policy when he was diagnosed in October 2025, she said.

From BBC

However, the black and white spaniel still happily greeted her rescuers with a wagging tail which "pulled on the heartstrings", she said.

From BBC