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water spaniel

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noun
  1. either of two breeds of spaniels, used for retrieving waterfowl.
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Compare American water spaniel, Irish water spaniel.

Origin of water spaniel

First recorded in 1560–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for water spaniel

Historical Examples

  • "Nay, that was a water-spaniel did that," said the goldsmith.

    Captain Ravenshaw

    Robert Neilson Stephens

  • In the street she was followed by a water-spaniel, which appealed and vanished suddenly.

    A Mummer's Tale

    Anatole France

  • A water-spaniel which knows how to work with a hawk is in each case very useful.

  • She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel,— 270 which is much in a bare Christian.

    Two Gentlemen of Verona

    William Shakespeare

  • No jack-rabbits ventured into the desert; no more would a water-spaniel breast a scalding sea.

    On a Donkey's Hurricane Deck

    R. Pitcher Woodward

British Dictionary definitions for water spaniel

water spaniel

noun
  1. either of two large curly-coated breeds of spaniel (the Irish and the American), which are used for hunting waterfowlSee also Irish water spaniel
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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