Terrier Definition

tĕrē-ər
terriers
noun
Any member of several breeds of generally small and typically aggressive dog, orig. bred to rout vermin and small game animals from their lairs.
Webster's New World

(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.

Wiktionary

(law) A book or roll in which the lands of private persons or corporations are described by their site, boundaries, number of acres, etc.; a terrar.

Wiktionary

An auger or borer.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Terrier

Noun

Singular:
terrier
Plural:
terriers

Origin of Terrier

  • Middle English from Old French (chien) terrier ground (dog), terrier from Medieval Latin terrārius of the earth from Latin terra ters- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old French (Middle French) chien terrier "terrier dog", or literally "earth dog," from chien 'dog' + terrier (itself ultimately from Latin terra 'earth').

    From Wiktionary

  • Compare Latin terere (“to rub, to rub away"), terebra (“a borer").

    From Wiktionary

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