Mastiff definition
A dog of a large powerful breed developed in England as a guard dog, having a large head, short black muzzle, and short often fawn-colored coat.
noun
Any of a breed of large, powerful dog with hanging lips and drooping ears and having a short, thick, often fawn-colored coat, dark on the muzzle, nose, and ears: formerly used for hunting, now often a watchdog and guard dog.
noun
A large breed of dog. Often confused to be part of a type of large dogs. The Mastiff is a breed of it's own that is sometimes referred to as an "English Mastiff". Other breeds have Mastiff in their informal name such as "French Mastiff" for Dogue de Bordeaux or include Mastiff in their breed names; Tibetan Mastiff or Neapolitan Mastiff. All are different breeds as well as the often confused Bullmastiff.
noun
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Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
mastiff
Plural:
mastiffsOrigin of mastiff
- Middle English mastif alteration (perhaps influenced by Old French mestif mongrel) of Old French mastin from Vulgar Latin (canis) mānsuētīnus tame (dog) from Latin mānsuētus past participle of mānsuēscere to tame manus hand man-2 in Indo-European roots suēscere to accustom s(w)e- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- An aberrant derivation from Old French mastin (modern French mâtin), from Vulgar Latin *mansuetÄ«nus (“tamed (animal)"), from Latin mansuetus (“tamed").
From Wiktionary