What is "dog"

Sundog \Sun"dog`\, n. (Meteorol.)

1. A luminous spot occasionally seen a few degrees from the sun, supposed to be formed by the intersection of two or more halos, or in a manner similar to that of halos.

2. A fragmentary rainbow; a small rainbow near the horizon; -- called also dog and weathergaw.

Old English docga, a late, rare word used of a powerful breed of canine. It forced out Old English hund (the general Germanic and Indo-European word; see canine) by 16c. and subsequently was picked up in many continental languages (French dogue (16c.), Danish dogge), but the origin remains one of the great mysteries of English etymology.\n

\nMany expressions -- a dog's life (c.1600), go to the dogs (1610s), etc. -- reflect earlier hard use of the animals as hunting accessories, not pampered pets. In ancient times, "the dog" was the worst throw in dice (attested in Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit, where the word for "the lucky player" was literally "the dog-killer"), which plausibly explains the Greek word for "danger," kindynas, which appears to be "play the dog."\n

\nSlang meaning "ugly woman" is from 1930s; that of "sexually aggressive man" is from 1950s. Adjectival phrase dog-eat-dog attested by 1850s. Dog tag is from 1918. To dog-ear a book is from 1650s; dog-eared in extended sense of "worn, unkempt" is from 1894. Notwithstanding, as a dog hath a day, so may I perchance have time to declare it in deeds.

[Princess Elizabeth, 1550]

"to track like a dog," 1510s, see dog (n.). Related: Dogged; dogging.

n. A mammal, ''Canis lupus familiaris'', that has been domesticated for thousands of years, of highly variable appearance due to human breeding. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To pursue with the intent to catch. 2 (context transitive English) To follow in an annoying way, to constantly be affected by.

1. n. a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds; "the dog barked all night" [syn: domestic dog, Canis familiaris]

2. a dull unattractive unpleasant girl or woman; "she got a reputation as a frump"; "she's a real dog" [syn: frump]

3. informal term for a man; "you lucky dog"

4. someone who is morally reprehensible; "you dirty dog" [syn: cad, bounder, blackguard, hound, heel]

5. a smooth-textured sausage of minced beef or pork usually smoked; often served on a bread roll [syn: frank, frankfurter, hotdog, hot dog, wiener, wienerwurst, weenie]

6. a hinged catch that fits into a notch of a ratchet to move a wheel forward or prevent it from moving backward [syn: pawl, detent, click]

7. metal supports for logs in a fireplace; "the andirons were too hot to touch" [syn: andiron, firedog, dog-iron]

8. [also: dogging, dogged]

1. v. go after with the intent to catch; "The policeman chased the mugger down the alley"; "the dog chased the rabbit" [syn: chase, chase after, trail, tail, tag, give chase, go after, track]

2. [also: dogging, dogged]

The Dog (狗) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dog is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 戌. The character 狗 refers to the actual animal while 戌 refers to the zodiac animal.

A dog is a mammal.

Dog or dogs may also refer to:

Dog is a BAFTA-winning stop motion animated short film written, directed and animated by Suzie Templeton. The film was made at the Royal College of Art in 2001.

Dog is the third studio album by Sow released in 2010. At this time Sow comprises Anna Wildsmith with "Boys", where the Boys are Rob Henry, Raymond Watts and Mike Watts.

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris or Canis familiaris) is a domesticated canid which has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviours, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes.

Although initially thought to have originated as an artificial variant of an extant canid species (variously supposed as being the dhole, golden jackal, or gray wolf), extensive genetic studies undertaken during the 2010s indicate that dogs diverged from an extinct wolf-like canid in Eurasia 40,000 years ago. Their long association with humans has led to dogs being uniquely attuned to human behavior and able to thrive on a starch-rich diet which would be inadequate for other canid species. Dogs are also the oldest domesticated animal.

Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet, " man's best friend".

In engineering a dog is a tool that prevents movement or imparts movement by offering physical obstruction or engagement of some kind. It may hold another object in place by blocking it, clamping it, or otherwise obstructing its movement. Or it may couple various parts together so that they move in unison - the primary example of this being a flexible drive to mate two shafts in order to transmit torque. Some devices use dog clutches to lock together two spinning components. In a manual transmission, the dog clutches, or "dogs" lock the selected gear to the shaft it rotates on. Unless the dog is engaged, the gear will simply freewheel on the shaft.

This word usage is a metaphor derived from the idea of a dog (animal) biting and holding on, the "dog" name derived from the basic idea of how a dog jaw locks on, by the movement of the jaw, or by the presence of many teeth. In engineering the "dog" device has some special engineering work when making it – it is not a simple part to make as it is not a simple bar or pipe, and the metal used in its construction is likely to be special rather than regular steel.

There is potential for confusion as "dog tensioners" are levers which are named due to the shape of the lever appearing as a dog leg, as the lever is in a pantograph arrangement, or "dog trailers" which are named due to the use of multiple trailers for transporting animal cages.