rabbitern.
/ˈrabɪtə/, U.S. /ˈræbədər/ A person who or a dog which hunts rabbits; spec. (chiefly Australian and New Zealand) a professional rabbit catcher or exterminator.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunter of specific animal > [noun] > of rabbits
coney-catcher?1648
rabbiter1859
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > sporting or hunting dog > that hunts specific animals
bear dog1616
wolf-dog1652
coney dog1681
foumart-dog?1748
bird dog1755
boar-dog1792
bear hound1807
wolf-hound1823
toller1831
coon-dog1833
pig-dog1845
rat terrier1851
ratter1858
rabbiter1859
squirrel-dog1860
badgerer1876
boar-hound1884
turkey-dog1895
coon hound1920
1859 Times 9 Feb. 2/2 A very grand pure-bred Isle of Skye Terrier Dog, age 20 months, a good ratter and rabbiter.
1887 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 826 These rabbiters insisted on being shifted out to more rabbity country.
1921 Bull. (Sydney) 25 Aug. 20/2 The best dog in a rabbiter's pack is always his ‘ringer’.
1971 J. Henderson Our Open Country 242 That truck quaffed petrol like a beerdrinking rabbiter hitting town after six months in the back of the Dunstan.
1991 Independent 20 Apr. 16/4 Some years ago a rabbiter found an 11-tonne iron meteorite.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1859