Dogwalker

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person employed to exercise and care for dogs by taking them on regular walks
2. Someone who is paid to walk other people's dogs and provide them with exercise and attention
3. An individual hired to lead dogs on outings for exercise and supervision

Etymology: The word is about as transparent as compounds get: "dog" plus "walker," meaning one who walks dogs, usually for someone else. Its parts have deep roots of their own. "Dog" traces back to Old English "dogga," later "dogge" in Middle English, and "walker" is an ordinary English agent form built on the verb "walk." Put together, they describe a job that needed no new vocabulary, only two familiar words placed side by side. The pairing is a reminder of how English builds new terms. Speakers rarely coined a fresh word for an emerging role; they combined existing ones until the meaning was clear. Once the combination caught on, it became a standard name for the occupation, and it has stayed transparent ever since.

Synonyms: dog walker