Molosser

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large, powerful dog of the mastiff type, originally bred for guarding and fighting, and named after the Molossians of ancient Epirus
2. A heavy, muscular breed of dog belonging to the mastiff family, traditionally used as a guard animal and a hunter of big game
3. Any of the big, broad-chested working dogs of the mastiff group, descended from ancient dogs associated with the Molossian people of Greece

Etymology: The Molossus was a breed of large, powerful dog from Molossia, a region of ancient Epirus in what is now northwestern Greece. Its name stuck to the animal's home territory, and over time the adjective "molosser" came to describe any dog of that heavy, mastiff-like type. The English word is simply the anglicised form of that Greek-derived name, so a modern reader meeting it for the first time is looking at a place name that became a breed name and then a general noun. The dog's fame in antiquity is what kept the name alive. Ancient writers prized Molossian hounds for their size and courage, and the breed was remembered long after the region itself had lost its prominence. The word therefore carries a geographical history in its grain: each time it is used, it points back to a particular stretch of mountain country in Epirus rather than to a generic idea of "big dog".

Synonyms: mastiff-type dog