schipperke

English

A schipperke

Etymology

From Belgian Dutch (Flemish), but unclear at the word level.

• Conventionally taken to be schipper (“skipper”) +‎ -ke (“diminutive suffix”), allegedly alluding to a role as watchdog and/or rodent catcher on canal boats.
• Alternatively, a mutation of scheperke, a diminutive of scheper (“shepherd, sheepdog”), referring to the breed's purported descent from an extinct larger breed of sheepdogs.

Related to the etymological debate is a longstanding informal one about whether the dog itself should be regarded as a spitz or a miniature sheepdog.

For more, see Schipperke § History on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Noun

schipperke (plural schipperkes)

1. (zoology) A small breed of dog developed in Belgium, sometimes used as a watchdog on boats.

Further reading

• schipperke on Wikipedia.Wikipedia