Sloughis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A slender, swift hound breed originating in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, often used for coursing game
2. Lean sighthound dogs from the Middle East and North Africa, prized historically for speed and hunting over open terrain
3. Graceful, fast dogs of a long-legged Arabian sighthound breed, traditionally kept by desert peoples for hunting and companionship

Etymology: The word is the plural of "sloughi", a name for a swift, long-legged hound of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, sometimes called the Arabian greyhound. The singular came into English from French, which had taken it from a dialectal Arabic form, "slūgī", meaning "greyhound". That Arabic word traces back to "salūqiyy", a term for greyhounds, and the link to Saluki, the English name for the breed, is a clear sign of their shared source. The two English words are doublets, meaning they came into the language by separate routes from the same origin. "Saluki" entered English directly from Arabic-speaking regions, while "sloughi" passed through French, which explains the different spellings and forms. In both cases the dog's name carried the Arabic word for a greyhound into European languages.