| 释义 |
ˈwater-dog
1. a. A dog bred for or trained to the water; esp. one trained to retrieve waterfowl. Formerly as a specific name, the barbet or poodle imported from the continent. b. Any kind of dog that swims well, and is habituated to or not shy of the water.
13..K. Alis. 5771 Bristled hy weren as hogges, And slynken as water-dogges. 1505Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. II. 475 For ane corsbow and ane water-dog to the King, vj li. 1600Darrell Detect. Harsnet's Discov. 130 They..wold neuer haue indured him to haue chopt at his face, as a water-dogge at a duck. 1621G. Markham Hunger's Prevent. xi. 67 Not any amongst vs is so simple that he cannot say when hee seeth him, This is a Water-Dogge, or a Dogge bred for the Water. 1677N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. iii. (ed. 2) 49 How to train a Water-dog. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. 145 She has done a picture of fowls, a water-dog and a heron. 1824T. Bewick Quadrupeds (ed. 8) 360 The Large Rough Water Dog..Le Grand Barbet, Buff. 1837T. Bell Brit. Quadrupeds 226 The Water-Dog must not be confounded with the Water-Spaniel, from which indeed it differs considerably in size and in proportions. 1867‘Stonehenge’ Dogs of Brit. Isl. 45 Though excellent water dogs,..we have had to complain of their impetuous rush into pond or river. 1876Field 13 May 537/2 It was proposed to have trials of performing dogs, sheepdogs and water dogs.
2. A man thoroughly at home either on or in the water.
a. A sailor.
b. A good swimmer.
1674Wycherley Plain Dealer i. i, 2 Sail...when I welcom'd him ashore, he gave me a box on the ear, and call'd me fawning Water-dog? 1840R. H. Dana Two Yrs. bef. Mast xiii. (1854) 57 They [sc. Sandwich Islanders] are complete water-dogs, and therefore very good in boating. 1878Joaquin Miller Songs of Italy 29 Brave old water-dogs wed to the sea. 1867S. W. Baker Nile Trib. v. 95 These two Arab water-dogs were up to their necks in the river, screaming out directions to each other. 1878E. J. Trelawny Rec. Shelley, etc. I. 154, I was the only water-dog of our band; neither Percy nor Captain Roberts nor the mate could swim.
3. A name for various animals.
a. The otter. Obs. exc. W. Afr.
1576A. Fleming tr. Caius' Dogs ii. 19 Both ælianus and ælius, call the Beauer, κὖνα [sic] ποτάµιον, a water dogge, or a dogge fishe. 1655Walton Angler ii. (1661) 49 There is brave hunting this Water-dog in Cornwall. c1856Denham Tracts (1892) I. 87 In Ireland the country people call the otter the Devil's water-dog. 1960M. Macdonald in G. Maxwell Ring of Bright Water xii. 164 A Senior African joined the group. ‘This be the piccin of water-dog,’ he intoned.
b. U.S. One of the various species of salamanders, esp. the hellbender or the mud-puppy.
1859Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2). 1882Amer. Naturalist Feb. 140 The Menopoma, here [Pa.] called ‘alligator’ and ‘water-dog’.
c. U.S. ? A variety of dogfish.
1892A. E. Lee Hist. Columbus (Ohio) I. 299 Suckers, catfish, gars and waterdogs were also taken [in the Scioto River].
d. The water-rat or water-vole, Arvicola amphibius.
1876Smiles Sc. Nat. i, The burn itself had plenty of water-dogs, or water-rats, along its banks.
4. A small dark floating cloud supposed to indicate rain. (Cf. dog n. 10 c.)
a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia. 1910Spectator 3 Sept. 342/1 Other English names for various perceptible forms of vapour in the sky are ‘water-dogs’, ‘sun-galls’ [etc.].
†5. Angling. A device for disentangling a hook.
1688Holme Armoury iii. 103/2 A Water-Dog, is a round peece of Lead like a Ring: It is to unloose the Hookes if they be fastned at the bottom. |