Dictionary.com

terrier

1
[ ter-ee-er ]
/ ˈtɛr i ər /

noun

any of several breeds of usually small dogs, used originally to pursue game and drive it out of its hole or burrow.
(initial capital letter)U.S. Military. a surface-to-air, two-stage antiaircraft missile.

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Origin of terrier

1
1400–50; <Middle French, short for chien terrier literally, dog of the earth (<Medieval Latin terrārius;see terra, -ier2); so called because used to start badgers from their burrows; replacing late Middle English terrere<Anglo-French (see -er2)

Words nearby terrier

terre verte, Terri, terrible, terribly, terricolous, terrier, terrific, terrify, terrifying, terrigenous, terrine

Definition for terrier (2 of 2)

terrier2
[ ter-ee-er ]
/ ˈtɛr i ər /

noun Law.

a book or document in which are described the site, boundaries, acreage, tenants, etc., of certain lands.

Origin of terrier

2
1470–80; <Middle French, short for registre terrier register of land (<Medieval Latin terrārius;see terra, -ier2); replacing earlier terrere<Anglo-French (see -er2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for terrier

British Dictionary definitions for terrier (1 of 3)

terrier1
/ (ˈtɛrɪə) /

noun

any of several usually small, active, and short-bodied breeds of dog, originally trained to hunt animals living underground

Word Origin for terrier

C15: from Old French chien terrier earth dog, from Medieval Latin terrārius belonging to the earth, from Latin terra earth

British Dictionary definitions for terrier (2 of 3)

terrier2
/ (ˈtɛrɪə) /

noun

English legal history a register or survey of land

Word Origin for terrier

C15: from Old French, from Medieval Latin terrārius of the land, from Latin terra land

British Dictionary definitions for terrier (3 of 3)

Terrier
/ (ˈtɛrɪə) /

noun

informal a member of the British Army's Territorial and Volunteer Reserve
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