spaniel
Americannoun
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one of any of several breeds of small or medium-sized dogs, usually having a long, silky coat and long, drooping ears.
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a submissive, fawning, or cringing person.
noun
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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
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either of two toy breeds of spaniel See King Charles spaniel
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an obsequiously devoted person
Other Word Forms
- spaniellike adjective
Etymology
Origin of spaniel
1350–1400; Middle English spaynel < Old French espaignol Spanish (dog), derivative of Espaigne Spain
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.
Vocabulary lists containing spaniel
A Boy Called Bat
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Sheep
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The champion of Crufts, Bruin, is a breed you may not have heard of before - a Clumber spaniel.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
Checks by officers established the identity of the brown and white spaniel who was handed back to her "very happy" owners.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Your cocker spaniel could have won the NFC East.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026
Ms Hamilton said when she first met the spaniel she was struck by her "lovely face and big puppy-dog eyes looking scared".
From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026
There were some more conventional pets, too: Tana, a beautiful white and lemon cocker spaniel who was given to me, and Hobo, a springer spaniel I looked after for a friend.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
