Hund

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

  1. A term used in Germanic languages meaning a canine animal commonly kept as a pet or used for hunting and guarding ; can refer specifically to a species of domesticated mammal known for loyalty and varied breeds ; often used colloquially to denote a dog-like creature or character
  2. Refers to a four-legged domesticated mammal prized for companionship, protection, and working abilities ; denotes the animal known for its barking, wagging tail, and varied sizes and temperaments ; commonly associated with being a faithful and trainable pet or guard
  3. A designation for animals of the species often companioned by humans for protection, sport, or affection ; represents the domesticated creature known widely across cultures for its service roles and emotional bonds ; typically identified as a furry quadruped commonly featured in homes and workplaces for various practical uses

Etymology: Old English "hund" was the ordinary word for a dog, and it has an unusually long pedigree: it is the same word as Gothic "hunds," Old Norse "hundr," and Latin "canis" is a different root, but "hund" belongs to a Germanic family whose wider Indo-European ancestry is still debated. Its closest relatives show that the word was once broad enough to name the animal in general rather than a particular breed or working type. The most striking English story is what happened to the word's rival. Old English also had "docga," a dog of a large, powerful kind, and for centuries "dog" was the more specific term while "hund" was the general one. Over the Middle English period "dog" spread to cover the whole species and "hund" faded from ordinary English, surviving mainly in regional dialects and in compounds such as "hound." Modern "hound" is the same word, shifted in form and narrowed to hunting dogs, so English keeps "hund" alive mostly as a hunting term rather than as its everyday name for a pet. Because "hund" is the standard German word for dog, a modern English speaker meeting it in German will recognise it as the same animal, though German "Hund" retained the general sense that English lost.

Synonyms: dog, canine, pooch, hound, mutt