terrier

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛɹiə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

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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”).

• tarrier (obsolete)

terrier (plural terriers)

1. 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).
2. 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.

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

terrier (plural terriers)

1. (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.
3. (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.

• periplus
• periegesis

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

terrier (plural terriers)

1. An auger or borer.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “terrier”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “terrier” in Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary: Based on Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 7th edition, Springfield, Mass.: G[eorge] & C[harles] Merriam, 1963 (1967 printing), →OCLC.
• “terrier”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

• retirer, retrier

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

terrier c (singular definite terrieren, plural indefinite terriere)

1. terrier (a small breed of dog)

• “terrier” in Den Danske Ordbog

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.

• IPA^(key): /tɛ.ʁje/ ~ /te.ʁje/

• Audio (CA):

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• Audio:

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terrier (feminine terrière, masculine plural terriers, feminine plural terrières)

1. (archaic, relational) ground, earth, land
2. enumerating seignorial rights, notably in livre terrier (“land register”)

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

terrier m (plural terriers)

1. hole
2. (fox's) earth; (rabbit) hole or burrow; (badger's) sett
3. terrier (dog)

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

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

• retirer

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

terrier m (invariable)

1. terrier (dog)

From French (chien) terrier.

terrier m (definite singular terrieren, indefinite plural terriere, definite plural terrierne)

1. a terrier dog breed

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

• reiter, retirer

From French (chien) terrier.

terrier m (definite singular terrieren, indefinite plural terrierar, definite plural terrierane)

1. a terrier dog breed

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

• reiter, retirer

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.rjɛr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrjɛr
• Syllabification: te‧rrier
• Homophone: terier

terrier m animal

1. alternative spelling of terier

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

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

terrier m or f by sense (plural terriers)

1. terrier (a small breed of dog)

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

• IPA^(key): /teˈrjeɾ/ [t̪eˈrjeɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: te‧rrier

terrier m (plural terriers or terrier)

1. terrier (dog)

• “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], 10 December 2024

Borrowed from English terrier.

terrier c

1. terrier

• airedaleterrier
• bostonterrier
• bullterrier
• foxterrier
• pitbullterrier

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