# terrier
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtɛɹiə(ɹ)/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French chien terrier (“terrier dog”), from chien (“dog”) + Old French terrier (“of earth”, adjective), from Medieval Latin terrarius (“of earth”), from Latin terra (“earth”).

#### Alternative forms

* tarrier (obsolete)

#### Noun

terrier (plural terriers)
* A dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rats, rabbits, foxes, and even otters; this original function is reflected in some of their names (e.g. rat terrier).
* Someone displaying terrier-like qualities such as determined pursuit.
** 2020 November 4, Paul Bigland, “At no point have I felt unsafe...”, in Rail, page 47:One of the LNER dispatch staff is a terrier when it comes to masks, challenging anyone without them.

##### Derived terms

* Aberdeen terrier
* Airedale terrier
* American hairless terrier
* Bedlington Terrier
* Bedlington terrier
* Boston terrier
* Brazilian terrier
* bull terrier
* cairn terrier
* Cesky terrier
* Clydesdale terrier
* fox terrier
* Irish terrier
* Jack Russell terrier
* Kerry blue terrier
* Lakeland terrier
* Ormskirk terrier
* pit bull terrier
* rat terrier
* Scotch terrier
* Scottish terrier
* Sealyham terrier
* Skye terrier
* smooth fox terrier
* Staffordshire bull terrier
* teacup terrier
* toy fox terrier
* Welsh terrier
* West Highland White Terrier
* wheaten terrier
* Wheaten terrier
* wire fox terrier
* wire-haired terrier
* working terrier
* Yorkshire terrier

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman terrier, from Old French terrier (“of earth”, adjective), from Medieval Latin terrarius (“of earth”), from Latin terra (“earth”).

#### Noun

terrier (plural terriers)
* (law, historical) A collection of acknowledgments of the vassals or tenants of a lordship, containing the rents and services they owed to the lord, etc.
* (law) An inventory (book or roll) in which the lands of private persons or corporations are described by their site, boundaries, number of acres, etc.; a terrar.

##### Coordinate terms

* periplus
* periegesis

### Etymology 3

Compare Latin terō (“to rub, to rub away”), terebra (“a borer”).

#### Noun

terrier (plural terriers)
* An auger or borer.

### References

* Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “terrier”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
* Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
* “terrier”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

### Anagrams

* retirer, retrier

## Danish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English terrier, from French (chien) terrier.

### Noun

terrier c (singular definite terrieren, plural indefinite terriere)
* terrier (a small breed of dog)

#### Declension
### References

* “terrier” in Den Danske Ordbog

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Old French, from Medieval Latin terrārius (“of earth”) from Latin terra (“earth”); or equivalent to terre +‎ -ier. Most terrier breeds were developed to hunt vermin both over and under the ground.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tɛ.ʁje/ ~ /te.ʁje/
* Audio (CA):(file)
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

terrier (feminine terrière, masculine plural terriers, feminine plural terrières)
* (archaic, relational) ground, earth, land
* enumerating seignorial rights, notably in livre terrier (“land register”)

#### Derived terms

* chien terrier (“terrier dog”)
* chienne terrier (“terrier bitch”)
* livre terrier (“land register”)
* papier terrier (“register of landed property”)
* plan terrier (“land-use plan”)

### Noun

terrier m (plural terriers)
* hole
* (fox's) earth; (rabbit) hole or burrow; (badger's) sett
* terrier (dog)

#### Derived terms

* chevêche des terriers
* chouette des terriers
* terrier de blaireau
* terrier de lapin
* terrier de renard
* sortir de son terrier (“break cover”)
* vivre dans son terrier (“live on one's own”)

### References

* Nouveau Petit Larousse illustré. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1952, 146th edition

### Further reading

* “terrier”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* retirer

## Italian
### Etymology

Borrowed from English terrier, from French (chien) terrier.

### Noun

terrier m (invariable)
* terrier (dog)

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From French (chien) terrier.

### Noun

terrier m (definite singular terrieren, indefinite plural terriere, definite plural terrierne)
* a terrier dog breed

### References

* “terrier” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
* “terrier” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

### Anagrams

* reiter, retirer

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From French (chien) terrier.

### Noun

terrier m (definite singular terrieren, indefinite plural terrierar, definite plural terrierane)
* a terrier dog breed

### References

* “terrier” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
* “terrier”, in Norsk Ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet, Oslo: Samlaget, 1950-2016

### Anagrams

* reiter, retirer

## Polish
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French terrier, from Middle French terrier, from Old French chien terrier, from Medieval Latin terrārius.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtɛ.rjɛr/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛrjɛr
* Syllabification: te‧rrier
* Homophone: terier

### Noun

terrier m animal
* Alternative spelling of terier

#### Derived terms

* terrierowy

### Further reading

* terrier in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* terrier in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English terrier, from French (chien) terrier.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /te.ʁiˈe/ [te.hɪˈe], (faster pronunciation) /teˈʁje/ [teˈhje]
* (Brazil) IPA: /te.ʁiˈe/ [te.hɪˈe], (faster pronunciation) /teˈʁje/ [teˈhje]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /te.ʁiˈe/ [te.χɪˈe], (faster pronunciation) /teˈʁje/ [teˈχje]
* (Portugal) IPA: /tɛˈʁje/

### Noun

terrier m or f by sense (plural terriers)
* terrier (a small breed of dog)

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English terrier, from French (chien) terrier.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /teˈrjeɾ/ [t̪eˈrjeɾ]
* Rhymes: -eɾ
* Syllabification: te‧rrier

### Noun

terrier m (plural terriers or terrier)
* terrier (dog)

### Further reading

* “terrier”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English terrier.

### Noun

terrier c
* terrier

#### Declension

| | | nominative | genitive |
| singular | indefinite | terrier | terriers |
| singular | definite | terriern | terrierns |
| plural | indefinite | terrier | terriers |
| plural | definite | terrierna | terriernas |

#### Related terms

* airedaleterrier
* bostonterrier
* bullterrier
* foxterrier
* pitbullterrier

### Further reading

* terrier in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
* terrier in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)