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spaniel

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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From Middle English spaynol, from Old French espaigneul (modern French épagneul), from Old Occitan espaignol, from Vulgar Latin *Hispāniolus (Spanish), from Hispānia (Spain).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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spaniel (plural spaniels)

  1. Any of various small to medium-sized breeds of gun dog having a broad muzzle, long, wavy fur and long ears that hang at the side of the head, bred for flushing and retrieving game.
  2. A cringing, fawning person.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Dutch: spaniël

Translations

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Verb

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spaniel (third-person singular simple present spaniels, present participle spanielling or spanieling, simple past and past participle spanielled or spanieled)

  1. To follow loyally or obsequiously, like a spaniel.
    • c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      Antony: Do we shake hands.—All come to this!—The hearts / That spaniel'd me at heels, to whom I gave / Their wishes, do discandy, melt their sweets
    • J. Sedgewick (1840) Timon, but not of Athens, page 200:Always spanielling at the heels of power, the mitred Dignitaries displayed, from first to last, the most rancorous hostility against her.
    • David S. Bell (2000) Presidential Power in Fifth Republic France, →ISBN, page 30:Hence Duverger's famous question about de Gaulle's first spanielling Prime Minister makes political ('M. Debré, existe-t-il?'), but not constitutional sense.
    • Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn (2003) The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, →ISBN, page 65:
      The genre which differed from the world in order to advocate a better one - or the genre which spanielled at heel the sensationalist virtual reality world we will now arguably inhabit till the planet dies - had become by 2000, in triumpth or defeat or both, an institution for the telling of story.

Anagrams

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Portuguese

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Noun

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spaniel m (plural spaniels)

  1. spaniel (any of several dog breeds bred to flush out game)

Spanish

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Noun

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spaniel m (plural spaniels or spaniel)

  1. a spaniel

Swedish

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Noun

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spaniel c

  1. A spaniel.

Anagrams

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