What is "terrier"

Dog \Dog\ (d[o^]g), n. [AS. docga; akin to D. dog mastiff, Dan. dogge, Sw. dogg.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A quadruped of the genus Canis, esp. the domestic dog ( Canis familiaris).

   Note: The dog is distinguished above all others of the inferior animals for intelligence, docility, and attachment to man. There are numerous carefully bred varieties, as the akita, beagle, bloodhound, bulldog, coachdog, collie, Danish dog, foxhound, greyhound, mastiff, pointer, poodle, St. Bernard, setter, spaniel, spitz dog, terrier, German shepherd, pit bull, Chihuahua, etc. There are also many mixed breeds, and partially domesticated varieties, as well as wild dogs, like the dingo and dhole. (See these names in the Vocabulary.)

2. A mean, worthless fellow; a wretch.

   What is thy servant, which is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? -- 2 Kings viii. 13 (Rev. Ver. )

3. A fellow; -- used humorously or contemptuously; as, a sly dog; a lazy dog. [Colloq.]

4. (Astron.) One of the two constellations, Canis Major and Canis Minor, or the Greater Dog and the Lesser Dog. Canis Major contains the Dog Star (Sirius).

5. An iron for holding wood in a fireplace; a firedog; an andiron.

6. (Mech.)

   1. A grappling iron, with a claw or claws, for fastening into wood or other heavy articles, for the purpose of raising or moving them.

   2. An iron with fangs fastening a log in a saw pit, or on the carriage of a sawmill.

   3. A piece in machinery acting as a catch or clutch; especially, the carrier of a lathe, also, an adjustable stop to change motion, as in a machine tool.

7. an ugly or crude person, especially an ugly woman. [slang]

8. a hot dog. [slang]

   Note: Dog is used adjectively or in composition, commonly in the sense of relating to, or characteristic of, a dog. It is also used to denote a male; as, dog fox or g-fox, a male fox; dog otter or dog-otter, dog wolf, etc.; -- also to denote a thing of cheap or mean quality; as, dog Latin.

   A dead dog, a thing of no use or value.
   --1 Sam. xxiv. 14.

   A dog in the manger, an ugly-natured person who prevents others from enjoying what would be an advantage to them but is none to him.

   Dog ape (Zo["o]l.), a male ape.

   Dog cabbage, or Dog's cabbage (Bot.), a succulent herb, native to the Mediterranean region ( Thelygonum Cynocrambe).

   Dog cheap, very cheap. See under Cheap.

   Dog ear (Arch.), an acroterium. [Colloq.]

   Dog flea (Zo["o]l.), a species of flea ( Pulex canis) which infests dogs and cats, and is often troublesome to man. In America it is the common flea. See Flea, and Aphaniptera.

   Dog grass (Bot.), a grass ( Triticum caninum) of the same genus as wheat.

   Dog Latin, barbarous Latin; as, the dog Latin of pharmacy.

   Dog lichen (Bot.), a kind of lichen ( Peltigera canina) growing on earth, rocks, and tree trunks, -- a lobed expansion, dingy green above and whitish with fuscous veins beneath.

   Dog louse (Zo["o]l.), a louse that infests the dog, esp. H[ae]matopinus piliferus; another species is Trichodectes latus.

   Dog power, a machine operated by the weight of a dog traveling in a drum, or on an endless track, as for churning.

   Dog salmon (Zo["o]l.), a salmon of northwest America and northern Asia; -- the gorbuscha; -- called also holia, and hone.

   Dog shark. (Zo["o]l.) See Dogfish.

   Dog's meat, meat fit only for dogs; refuse; offal.

   Dog Star. See in the Vocabulary.

   Dog wheat (Bot.), Dog grass.

   Dog whelk (Zo["o]l.), any species of univalve shells of the family Nassid[ae], esp. the Nassa reticulata of England.

   To give to the dogs, or To throw to the dogs, to throw away as useless. ``Throw physic to the dogs; I'll none of it.''
   --Shak.

   To go to the dogs, to go to ruin; to be ruined.

kind of dog, early 15c., from Old French chien terrier "terrier dog," literally "earth dog," from Medieval Latin terrarius "of earth," from Latin terra "earth" (see terrain). So called because the dogs pursue their quarry (foxes, badgers, etc.) into their burrows.

Etymology 1 alt. 1 A dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rat, rabbit, fox, and even otter; this original function is reflected in some of their names (''e.g.'' rat terrier). 2 (context legal historical English) A collection of acknowledgments of the vassals or tenants of a lordship, containing the rents and services they owed to the lord, etc. 3 (context legal English) A book or roll in which the lands of private persons or corporations are described by their site, boundaries, number of acres, etc.; a terrar. n. 1 A dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rat, rabbit, fox, and even otter; this original function is reflected in some of their names (''e.g.'' rat terrier). 2 (context legal historical English) A collection of acknowledgments of the vassals or tenants of a lordship, containing the rents and services they owed to the lord, etc. 3 (context legal English) A book or roll in which the lands of private persons or corporations are described by their site, boundaries, number of acres, etc.; a terrar. Etymology 2

n. An auger or borer.

n. any of several usually small short-bodied breeds originally trained to hunt animals living underground

A terrier is a type of dog. It may also refer to:

Places:

• Saint-Loup-Terrier, a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France

People:

• David Terrier (born 1973), a French football defender

Fiction:

• Terrier (novel), a 2006 novel by Tamora Pierce
• Terriers (TV series) a television show which aired in 2010 on the FX network

Military:

• RIM-2 Terrier missile, a Cold War surface-to-air missile of the US Navy
• Terrier Armoured Digger, new engineering vehicle of the British Army
• Territorial Army (United Kingdom) is nicknamed the "Terriers"

• , more than one United States Navy ship

Sport:

• Boston University Terriers, the athletics teams of Boston University
• St. Francis Terriers, the athletics teams of St. Francis College
• Wofford Terriers, the athletics team of Wofford College

Other:

• Beagle Terrier, a British monoplane
• Glebe terrier, a Church of England inventory document
• LB&SCR A1 Class, a class of British railway locomotive commonly known as Terriers
• Terrier Search Engine (aka TERabyte RetrIEveR), a search engine
• A Land terrier, a record of landholdings

A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just to over and are usually categorized by size or function. There are five different groups with each group having several different breeds.

Terrier is a young adult fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the Provost's Dog trilogy and the fifteenth book set in the Tortall Universe. It tells the story of Rebakah "Beka" Cooper, the ancestor of George Cooper from Song of the Lioness and Alianne from Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen. It is set 200 years prior to the bulk of the Tortall novels.