hound
pronunciation
How to pronounce hound in British English:
UK [haʊnd]
How to pronounce hound in American English:
US [haʊnd]
-
- Noun:
- any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
- someone who is morally reprehensible
-
- Verb:
- pursue or chase relentlessly
Word Origin
- hound
- hound: [OE] Until superseded around the 16th century by dog, hound was the main English word for ‘dog’ (and indeed its relatives in the other Germanic languages remain so – German, Swedish, and Danish hund, for instance, and Dutch hond). It goes back ultimately to Indo- European *kuntos, a derivative of the base which also produced Greek kúōn ‘dog’ (source of English cynic and, according to some etymologists, quinsy), Latin canis ‘dog’ (whence French chien and Italian cane, not to mention English canine, canary, chenille, and kennel), Welsh ci ‘dog’ (as in corgi [20], literally ‘dwarf dog’), and Russian sobaka ‘dog’.Since the 16th century, English hound has been used largely for ‘hunting dog’.=> canary, canine, chenille, cynic, kennel, quinsy
- hound (n.)
- Old English hund "dog," from Proto-Germanic *hundas (cognates: Old Saxon and Old Frisian hund, Old High German hunt, German Hund, Old Norse hundr, Gothic hunds), from PIE *kuntos, dental enlargement of root *kwon- "dog" (see canine). Meaning narrowed 12c. to "dog used for hunting."
- hound (v.)
- "hunt with hounds," 1520s, from hound (v.). Sense of "pursue relentlessly" is first recorded c. 1600. Related: Hounded; hounding.
Example
- 1. I 'm thinking about my good old hound .
- 2. Stapleton used it very cleverly on the hound .
- 3. 32a Judge feels the tail of an afghan hound during judging feb. 14 .
- 4. I expected to see a huge hound , but not a creature like this .
- 5. If he knows about the hound , he will find it harder to face the dangers of tomorrow .