Dogman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A man who keeps, breeds or handles dogs for work or sport ; a mythical creature that is part man and part dog, often seen in local legends
2. One who works with or looks after dogs, such as a kennel worker ; a legendary being with the body of a man and the head or features of a dog
3. A male handler responsible for caring for dogs ; an imagined hybrid creature, half human and half canine, that appears in folk tales

Etymology: "Dogman" has two unrelated histories. The first is simply a compound of "dog" and "man," with "-man" used in the sense of a worker or person employed in a given area, so a dogman is someone who works with dogs, such as a kennel worker. Nothing about this sense needs a special story; it follows the same pattern as words like "horseman" or "gamekeeper." The second history is more unusual. In the building and lifting trades, a "dog" is a metal part of a crane that grips the load to be lifted. The dogman is the person who attaches that gripping hardware to the load and directs the lift. The name is said to come from the practice of such workers riding on top of the load as it was raised, which is why the crane part and the worker share a name.

Synonyms: dog handler, kennelman, dogkeeper