terrier

¹

[ter-ee-er]

noun

1. any of several breeds of usually small dogs, used originally to pursue game and drive it out of its hole or burrow.

2. (initial capital letter),  a surface-to-air, two-stage antiaircraft missile.

terrier

²

[ter-ee-er]

noun

Law.

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

Terrier

¹

/ ˈtɛrɪə /

noun

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

terrier

²

/ ˈtɛrɪə /

noun

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

terrier

³

/ ˈtɛrɪə /

noun

1. English legal history a register or survey of land

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrier¹

1400–50; < Middle French, short for chien terrier literally, dog of the earth (< Medieval Latin terrārius; terra, -ier ² ); so called because used to start badgers from their burrows; replacing late Middle English terrere < Anglo-French ( -er ² )

Origin of terrier²

1470–80; < Middle French, short for registre terrier register of land (< Medieval Latin terrārius; terra, -ier ² ); replacing earlier terrere < Anglo-French ( -er ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrier¹

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

Origin of terrier²

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

Example Sentences

Chihuahuas, rat terriers and miniature poodles are muscling in on strength contests long dominated by big dogs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I can't say that my own stubborn, disobedient terrier provides me with any of the benefits that the first domesticated wolves bestowed on our ancestors.

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The placid if slightly stupid day nurse is a cow; the surgeon has the head of a yapping terrier; the junior nurse is a “prancing kitten.”

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Ana Paun had gone to the shops with her older sister in the Bordesley Green area of the city when a dog - an American XL bully and Staffordshire bull terrier crossbreed - attacked.

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Her first writing gig was for a PBS children’s show called “Wishbone,” about a Jack Russell terrier who imagines himself as a character in literary classics.

Read more on Los Angeles Times