dog
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /dɒɡ/
enpr: dôg
note: without the cot–caught merger
ipa: /dɔɡ/
ipa: /dɑɡ/
ipa: [dɔ(ː)ɡ]
rhymes: -ɒɡ
Forms: form: dogs
form: dogging
form: dogged
form: dogged
form: darg
form: dawg
form: dug
form: doggie
form: doggy
form: doggy woggy
form: doggo
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug), from Old English dogga, docga, of uncertain origin.
The original meaning seems to have been a common dog, as opposed to a well-bred one, or something like 'cur', and perhaps later came to be used for stocky dogs. Possibly a pet-form diminutive with suffix -ga (compare frocga (“frog”), *picga (“pig”)), appended to a base *dog-, *doc- of unclear origin and meaning. One possibility is Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”) (compare frocga from frox). Another proposal is that it derives from Proto-West Germanic *dugan (“to be suitable”), the origin of Old English dugan (“to be good, worthy, useful”), English dow, Dutch deugen, German taugen. The theory goes that it could have been an epithet for dogs, commonly used by children, meaning "good/useful animal". Another is that it is related to *docce (“stock, muscle”), from Proto-West Germanic *dokkā (“round mass, ball, muscle, doll”), whence English dock (“stumpy tail”).
In 14th-century England, hound (from Old English hund) was the general word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog. By the 16th century, dog had become the general word, and hound had begun to refer only to breeds used for hunting. In the 16th century, the word dog was adopted by several continental European languages as their word for mastiff.
Despite similarities in forms and meaning, not related to Mbabaram dog.
Senses: synonyms: chase
chase after
go after
pursue
tag
tail
track
trail
glosses: To pursue with the intent to catch.
examples: text: The woman cursed him so that trouble would dog his every step.
text: […] they were discovered in a very improper manner by the husband of the gypsy, who, from jealousy it seems, had kept a watchful eye over his wife, and had dogged her to the place, where he found her in the arms of her gallant.
ref: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
text: Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.
ref: 2012 January 24, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2013, page 86:
text: But this is not an Athletic that ever looks comfortable at the back – a criticism that has often dogged Marcelo Bielsa's sides.
ref: 2012 May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, in the Guardian:
text: Yet Google, which was founded in 1998, is dogged by the perception that its best days are behind it.
ref: 2021 June 21, Daisuke Wakabayashi, “Google Executives See Cracks in Their Company’s Success”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: To follow in an annoying or harassing way.
examples: text: It is very important to dog down these hatches.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: To fasten a hatch securely.
examples: text: I admit that I like to dog at my local country park.
text: Lightning [is a] burst of charged particles that lights up the sky and allows onlookers to see who's dogging in the bushes without using a flashlight.
ref: 2012, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge, page 118:
qualifier: emerging usage in British
glosses: To watch, or participate, in sexual activity in a public place.
examples: text: A surprise inspection of the night shift found that some workers were dogging it.
synonyms: soldier
goldbrick
glosses: To intentionally restrict one's productivity as employee; to work at the slowest rate that goes unpunished.
examples: text: Harmon Rabb (David James Elliott): Are you dogging Harm's special meatless meatloaf?
 Sarah MacKenzie (Catherine Bell): Let's put it this way. If you were to make the Harmon Special on this ship, they'd have to unload it with the toxic waste.
ref: 1999 March 30, “Shakedown”, in JAG, season 4, episode 18, via CBS:
glosses: To criticize.
examples: text: A. We never stood 4 to 8 p.m. watches, sir. We dogged our watches.
Q. I suppose that is 6 to 8 p.m., then; it is a little indistinct. I mean the second dog watch.
ref: 1902, Winfield Scott Schley, Record of Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry:
text: Meanwhile, we dogged the watch sections so that both halves of the crew could fetch full sea bags of uniforms and gear […]
ref: 2015, Tom Vetter, 30,000 Leagues Undersea:
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: To divide (a watch) with a comrade.
Derived terms: all dogged up